This thread gets more fascinating every day. Now you guys have got me googling to learn about power plant equipment! In the process, I've also learned that coal-powered plants are being decommissioned at an increasing rate due to a combination of stricter EPA regulations, cheap natural gas, and overcapacity in certain markets. Here are the EIA's projections of closures through 2020:
Now, here's where things get really interesting: This spike in plant closures will generate a multibillion-dollar boom in the demolition industry. (So Patriot, you are embarking on a brilliant career path here.) However, at the same time, that demolition boom is going to produce an oversupply of scrap metal. Over the next several years, as more and more plants are disassembled, scrap prices are likely to be pushed lower and lower, unless significant new sources of demand materialize. This, in turn, means demolition businesses won't be able to rely on revenues from the sale of scrap metal to cover their costs and return healthy profits. They are going to have to charge more for their services, and the utility companies that own these plants are going to have to come up with that funding (which they will probably accomplish by charging their captive customers more for electricity). In this market, the businesses that pound out the most demolitions in the early years are likely to reap the greatest rewards; by the end of the decade, profit margins may have tightened. So get your lawyer to set up your new LLC now, Patriot, and line up your new company's next gig before this one is even over, because I'm betting on you to become the demolition king of the Dakotas!
Sorry this is kind of long. I just was amazed to discover how the story here fits inside this big jigsaw puzzle.
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