According to a new report by Timetric’s Construction Intelligence Center (CIC), the major economies in the Americas will invest over US$792 billion in power generation projects in the coming years to increase generating capacity by 380 GW.

The United States heads the 13 countries analyzed with projects valued at almost US$388 billion, followed by Canada at US$90.3 billion and Brazil with US$90 billion.

The major sector is hydroelectric which was valued at US$200 billion and is headed by Brazil. Hydroelectric is estimated to account for 65% of all power generation in Latin America and some countries, such as Brazil, have over 85% dependence on the sector. Recent droughts in Latin America have reduced power production and some economies have begun building fossil fuel power plants to make up for this shortfall in power capacity.

Timetric estimates that of the US$792 billion of power generation projects planned or underway in the 13 countries studied, hydroelectric accounts for US$200 billion followed by wind with US$190 billion. Nuclear power is in third place valued at US$141.5 billion headed by the USA, with projects in four of the countries studied.

The USA heads each of the power generation sectors apart from hydroelectric and oil. The 13 countries of Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Mexico, Panama, Peru, USA and Venezuela have over 72% of the projects, worth a total of US$571 billion at the pre-construction stage.

“The Americas include the highly developed economies of the USA and Canada together with the developed but economically struggling economies of Argentina, Venezuela and Brazil and the developing Latin American countries. All need to balance low carbon power generation with immediate energy demands to sustain their economies. Fossil fuel is being phased out for power generation in the region accounting for 18.5% of the value of projects in the planning pipeline. Renewables account for almost 64% of projects value, with hydroelectric and wind power leading in new power generation projects for the Americas,” comments Neil Martin, Manager at Timetric CIC.

The largest value projects in the Americas tracked by CIC are the US$22 billion Mariah Wind Farm in Texas, USA which is planned for 2015, and the US$16 billion Tapajos Hydropower Complex in Brazil.

Timetric
www.timetric.com