Official: Idaho computer chip plant makes US more resilient
Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm says a $15 billion investment in a new semiconductor plant by Boise, Idaho-based chipmaker Micron in its hometown is a step in protecting the United States from the vulnerabilities of a globalized market made clear by the COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine
BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Chipmaker Micron's planned $15 billion investment in a new factory in the company's hometown of Boise will help protect the United States from the vulnerabilities of a globalized semiconductor market, U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said Monday.
“It is time to get America making things again, with American parts and American labor,” Granholm told a crowd of about 250 guests and Micron workers invited to a tent-covered dirt field for a ceremonial groundbreaking. The event included setting off a ground-clearing explosion far from the crowd that emitted red, white and blue smoke.
The U.S. and Europe are pushing aggressively to build chipmaking capacity and reduce reliance on producers that are now mostly based in Asia. Semiconductor businesses have also been trying to diversify their operations to avoid bottlenecks caused by problems — such as a natural disaster or pandemic lockdown — in a specific region.
Micron officials said that the high desert, sagebrush steppe area east of Boise is expected to have the largest chipmaking cleanroom, or fab, in the U.S. by the end of the decade, covering 600,000 square feet (55,000 square meters) and creating 17,000 jobs. Construction is expected to start in 2023, with some cleanroom working space ready by 2025 and expanding in phases.
