2014 Coal-Fired Project Starts to Reach $220 Bil.

At the end of 2013, McIlvaine says the world will have coal-fired capacity of 2.21 million MW, with an increase of 60,000 MW to a new total of 2.27 mil. by the end of 2014 MW. There are 150 projects with an average size of 400 MW, which are now in the final purchasing stage for all components. Each of these projects represent a total investment of $1.2 bil., so the total is $180 bil. in purchases.

2014 will be a record year for new NOx control installations with 300 projects totaling over 110,000 MW, according to McIlvaine. Retrofit projects represent 50 percent of the total and would add $7.5 bill. to the total potential for 2014 (the other 50 percent are included in the new coal-fired boiler numbers).

McIlvaine predicts there will be 33,000 MW of FGD (flue gas desulfurization) retrofits, but a total of 95,000 MW of FGD projects starting in 2014 when the new power plants are included. This will add another $7 billion to the total purchases.

McIlvaine says there are a number of projects to replace precipitators and old FGD systems slated for 2014, which figure to add another $10 bill. to the total. There are also various initiatives for 2014 to upgrade wastewater treatment systems and add cooling towers to replace once through cooling systems, which are expected to add another $15 bill. to hardware purchases for 2014.