U.S. Power Industry Looks to $1.76 Billion in Active Maintenance Projects for 2018

Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--As the U.S. Power Industry undergoes radical changes to its generation mix, such as the displacement of coal by natural gas and the flat-lining of nuclear growth, maintenance projects increasingly are needed to keep existing facilities economically efficient. Industrial Info is tracking more than $1.76 billion in active maintenance-related projects at U.S. power facilities that have started or are scheduled to kick off in 2018, more than $1.3 billion of which can be found at either natural gas-fired or nuclear power facilities.

Click on the image at right for a graph detailing the top 10 U.S. states for Power Industry maintenance projects that have started or are scheduled to kick off this year.

Nuclear power plants are among the most expensive power-generation facilities to build and maintain, while relatively inexpensive natural gas-fired plants have only continued to grow in popularity. The corresponding long-term decline in new plant construction within the nuclear sector has led many nuclear plant operators to up their investments in maintenance projects. Across the U.S. South, numerous operational nuclear plants are performing or preparing to kick off maintenance outages at nuclear units, including:

• Duke Energy Corporation's (NYSE:DUK) (Charlotte, North Carolina) 1,129-megawatt (MW) Unit 2 at the McGuire Nuclear Power Station in Huntersville, North Carolina; see project report
• Duke's 724-MW Unit 2 at the H.B. Robinson Nuclear Power Station in Hartsville, South Carolina; see project report
• Duke's 1,129-MW Unit 1 at the Catawba Nuclear Power Station in York, South Carolina; see project report
• Duke's 846-MW Unit 1 at the Oconee Nuclear Power Station in Seneca, South Carolina; see project report
• SCANA Corporation's (NYSE:SCG) (Cayce, South Carolina) 966-MW Unit 1 at the Virgil C. Summer Nuclear Power Station in Jenkinsville, South Carolina; see project report
• Southern Company's (NYSE:SO) (Atlanta, Georgia) 1,150-MW Unit 1 at the Alvin W. Vogtle Nuclear Power Station in Waynesboro, Georgia; see project report
• Tennessee Valley Authority's (NYSE:TVE) (Knoxville, Tennessee) 1,152-MW Unit 2 at the Sequoyah Nuclear Power Station in Soddy Daisy, Tennessee; see project report
• Entergy Corporation's (NYSE:ETR) (New Orleans, Louisiana) 1,176-MW Unit 3 at the Waterford Three Nuclear Power Station in Hahnville, Louisiana; see project report

Click on the image at right for a graph detailing fuel types for U.S. Power Industry maintenance projects that have started or are scheduled to kick off this year.

One of the major advantages natural gas enjoys over nuclear is the lower cost of labor and maintenance, usually making up for the higher fuel cost associated with natural gas. Nuclear maintenance projects in 2018 account for the highest total investment value (TIV) for any fuel type at $693 million, but that TIV comes from only 32 projects. Natural gas-fired maintenance projects have a slightly lower TIV at $658 million, but from 239 separate projects. The highest-valued of these projects can be found at natural gas-fired, combined-cycle (NGCC) facilities, such as:

• OGE Energy Corporation's (NYSE:OGE) (Oklahoma City, Oklahoma) 1,308-MW units 1 to 4 at the Redbud Power Plant in Luther, Oklahoma; see project report
• Starwood Capital Group's (Greenwich, Connecticut) 788-MW Unit 1 at the Marcus Hook Energy Center in Marcus Hook, Pennsylvania; see project report
• Entergy's 644-MW outage at the Hot Spring Energy Center in Malvern, Arkansas; see project report
• Oglethorpe Power Corporation's (Tucker, Georgia) 521-MW outage at the Chattahoochee Energy Facility in Franklin, Georgia; see project report
• General Electric Company's (NYSE:GE) (Fairfield, Connecticut) 400-MW outage at the Inland Empire Energy Center in Menifee, California; see project report
• LS Power Group's (New York, New York) 1,100-MW outage at the Oneta Energy Center in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma; see project report
• ArcLight Capital Partners LLC's (Boston, Massachusetts) 392-MW Unit 2 at the Covert Generating Station in Covert, Michigan; see project report
• NextEra Energy Incorporated's (NYSE:NEE) (Juno Beach, Florida) 1,277-MW Block 2 at the West County Energy Center in Loxahatchee, Florida; see project report

Despite accelerating GDP growth, total U.S. energy consumption decreased 0.2% in 2017, according to a report earlier this year from Bloomberg New Energy Finance. As the consumption of coal, natural gas and nuclear has declined, the U.S. has seen an expansion in the consumption of petroleum, hydro and renewable energy.

Though natural gas-fired generation remains the No. 1 producer of U.S. power at 32% of the generation market, according to Bloomberg it has decreased 8.1% from a decade ago. Meanwhile, renewable sources doubled their contribution to the generation mix to 18%. Hydropower facilities demand more maintenance than most other renewable-powered facilities, and account for almost all of the active renewable-based maintenance projects in 2018. These include:

• Xcel Energy Incorporated's (NASDAQ:XEL) (Minneapolis, Minnesota) 150-MW Unit 1 at the Cabin Creek Pumped Storage Hydro Station in Georgetown, Colorado; see project report
• U.S. Bureau of Reclamation's 713-MW units 1 to 5 at the Shasta Lake Hydro Power Station in Shasta Lake, California; see project report
• Exelon Corporation's (NYSE:EXC) (Chicago, Illinois) 200-MW units 3 and 4 at the Muddy Run Hydro Power Station in Drumore, Pennsylvania; see project report
• Avista Corporation's (NYSE:AVA) (Spokane, Washington) 269-MW units 1 to 4 at the Cabinet Gorge Hydro Power Station in Clark Fork, Idaho; see project report
• Exelon's 489-MW units 1 to 11 at the Conowingo Hydro Power Station in Darlington, Maryland; see project report

Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, six offices in North America and 12 international offices, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Industrial Info's quality-assurance philosophy, the Living Forward Reporting Principle™, provides up-to-the-minute intelligence on what's happening now, while constantly keeping track of future opportunities. Follow IIR on: Facebook - Twitter - LinkedIn. For more information on our coverage, send inquiries to info@industrialinfo.com or visit us online at http://www.industrialinfo.com/.