Solar Leads U.S. Southeast in $3.45 Billion Second-Quarter Power Buildout

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Industrial Info is tracking $3.45 billion in Power Industry projects that are planned to kick off in second-quarter 2020 in the U.S. Southeast market region, which includes Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi and Tennessee. Florida leads in terms of the number and value of projects, with nearly $1.3 billion in planned projects. This comes in part from a number of solar power projects in the state. Solar leads other fuel types in terms of project value in the region, at $1.74 billion.

Click on the image at right to see a breakdown by state of planned second-quarter 2020 Power project starts in the U.S. Southeast.

Thanks to Florida's Solar Base Rate Adjustment (SoBRA) program that allows companies to recoup solar project costs, companies including NextEra Energy Resources (NYSE:NEE) (Juno Beach, Florida) and Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) (Charlotte, North Carolina) are building several solar facilities in the state with capacities of around 75 megawatts (MW). Among these is NextEra's 74.5-MW Union County solar energy center in Lake Butler, Florida, about 25 miles north of Gainesville. The project will kick off early in the quarter for completion by the end of the year. For more information, see Industrial Info's project report. Duke plans to begin construction on its 75-MW Twin River solar plant in Jasper, Florida, this summer for completion by the end of the year. The facility will use approximately 235,000 solar panels on a single-axis tracking system. For more information, see Industrial Info's project report.

While Florida leads in the number of planned solar projects, Alabama is home to the largest planned solar project in the region. First Solar Incorporated (NASDAQ:FSLR) (Tempe, Arizona) will construct the 227-MW Muscle Shoals solar plant in the northwest corner of the state. The facility will contain 150,000 solar arrays on a single-axis tracking system and will include a 161-kilovolt substation and transmission line for power delivery into Colbert County. Strata Solar (Chapel Hill, North Carolina) is providing engineering, procurement and construction services on the project, and AECOM (NYSE:ACM) (Los Angeles, California) is a consultant. The project is expected to be completed in second-quarter 2021. For more information, see Industrial Info's project report.

While solar leads in terms of numbers and project value, the region is not without other types of renewable energy projects. In eastern Tennessee, Tennessee Valley Authority (Chattanooga, Tennessee) will begin a modernization project on units 3 and 4 at the Nickajack hydropower station near New Hope. The project will improve the performance of the two 24.3-MW turbines by 6 MW and extend service life. It is expected to be completed later this year. For more information, see Industrial Info's project report.

A couple of natural gas-fired projects are by far the Southeast region's largest planned projects in the upcoming quarter, although neither is a grassroot project. In Purvis, Mississippi, Cooperative Energy (Hattiesburg, Mississippi) will build a 550-MW combined-cycle unit to replace older coal-fired units that are set to be decommissioned. Burns & McDonnell Incorporated (Kansas City, Missouri) is the engineer on the $650 million project, which is set to wrap up in early 2022. For more information, see Industrial Info's project report.

In Alabama, PowerSouth Energy Cooperative Incorporated (Andalusia, Alabama) will construct a 640-MW natural gas-fired plant on a brownfield site in Leroy, about 60 miles north of Mobile. The project is expected to kick off this summer and take about three years to complete. For more information, see Industrial Info's project report.

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