The Economic Perspective 10/30/2026

The Latest Trending Economic, Environmental and Infrastructure News Curated for You by The Balmoral Group

The Balmoral Group provides practical, professional and precise Economics, Data Analytics, and Engineering Consulting services and is part of a globally integrated team.

Happy Friday! 

Welcome back to the newest edition of the Economic Perspective! We hope everyone who celebrates will have a spooktacular Halloween🎃! Now, for some updates from the candy market: the National Retail Federation estimates that consumers will spend approximately $13.5 billion on Halloween this year, setting a new record of $115 per person. Candy costs have increased by around 8% in one year, largely driven by chocolate supplier prices... spooky!

Next week, TBG Economists Cortney Cortez and Elizabeth Mandell will be attending the Southeast Florida Climate Leadership Summit in Fort Lauderdale! View the Summit information here.

This week additionally marks National Bat Week, an annual celebration of the important role bats play in our ecosystems. Read below for an article covering a Florida celebration of bats!

Our articles this week cover the opening of a new water treatment plant, trends in increased natural gas production, construction market updates, and ecological changes for Florida deer and panthers. Our Data Visualization covers data center developers constructing their own power plants to reach electricity demands. 

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New Water Treatment Plant in Fort Lauderdale

A $666 million water treatment facility has just opened in Fort Lauderdale through a public-private partnership between the City of Fort Lauderdale, IDE Technologies, Ridgewood Infrastructure, and Kiewit Water Facilities. This is replacing a previous water treatment plant that was not up to design standards for withstanding hurricane activity. After a string of several extreme hurricanes that hit Florida the past few years, this is one of several infrastructure projects to increase natural disaster resilience. Other areas within the state are making similar efforts to support water treatment plants and other parts of infrastructure. Read more here and here.

Emergency Funds Released by USDOT

$1.6 billion in emergency rescue funds have been released by USDOT to help rebuild infrastructure after several natural disasters have occurred over the past few years. $873 million is going to North Carolina to continue to help rebuild after Hurricane Helene in 2024, $81 million is going to Hawai’i to help with rebuilds from flooding caused by Kona Low storms. $52 million is going to Texas for bridge damage repairs caused by heavy rainfall. Destruction estimates caused by Hurricane Helene alone were $78.7 billion and even two years after the hit, many roads, bridges, and other structures are in need of repair. Read more here.

Annual Bat Festival Highlighting Species Importance   

Last Saturday marked the 22^nd annual Florida Bat Festival held at the Lubee Bat Conservancy in Gainesville, Florida. Educational presentations and up-close exhibits of the world’s largest bat species, the Malayan Flying Fox, were present. The Conservancy was founded in 1989 and currently houses 200 bats from nine species, and additionally works on protecting populations and raising awareness. Common issues faced include deforestation, commercial collection, pesticide overuse, and sport hunting. Bats are a keystone species, providing natural pest management by consuming night-flying insects. Read more here.

Record Natural Gas Production in the US

US energy companies expect to produce record numbers of natural gas for the second consecutive year. Driven by spikes in global demand in energy to fuel newly constructed data centers, natural gas production continues to climb. The three largest natural gas producers, Expand Energy, EQT, and Range Resources, are reporting pumping significantly more natural gas out of the ground, raising US gas production from 107.6 billion cubic feet per day in 2025 to 112.2 billion cubic feet per day in 2026. Expectations are that 2027 will see further increases to 116.1 billion cubic feet per day. EQT is planning to buy out Range Resources in a $13 billion stock deal leading to further consolidation in the market. Read more here

 UCF Research Reveals Climate Effects on Florida Deer and Panthers

UCF is conducting research on how Florida panthers and deer could be affected by future environmental conditions with the purpose of informing wildlife managers on the appropriate conservation measures for the vulnerable species. The UCF College of Sciences found that populations in North Florida are less vulnerable to climate change compared to populations in Southeast Florida. Additionally, research revealed that Florida panthers currently have suboptimal genetic variability, and are therefore more vulnerable to future environmental conditions. As their genetic variability deceases, panthers have lower chances of adapting to climate changes. Read more about the project findings and methodology here.   

Construction Partners Acquisitions in the Sunbelt

Construction Partners, Inc (CPI) has recently acquired S.E. Cline Construction, which includes a hot-mix asphalt plant near Bunnell. This follows a string of acquisitions by CPI including P&S Paving in Daytona Beach, Roads, Inc. in Northwest Florida, Asphalt Express Enterprises, LLC in Oklahoma, and a number of other companies in 2026. This represents a significant level of vertical integration occurring in the asphalt industry and contracting business. CPI has taken special interest in the I-95 corridor around Daytona Beach as it is fast-growing and a market for significant work. Read more about these acquisitions here, here, and here.

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Data Visualization of the Week

Data Centers Building Their Own Power Plants

Data center developers have invested in building about 110 GW of gas power plants instead of relying on grid connection to reach electricity demands. Behind-the-meter power generation continues to escalate rapidly, driven largely by data centers and the significant energy needs required of them. Back in June, planned behind-the-meter power plant development was at 90 GW, and since January 2026 the amount of energy has nearly doubled. Anthropic has driven much of this increase as they have become one of the largest buyers of this behind-the-meter power in the past few months. Read more about this power expansion here and here.