Platinum Award
Empire State Development: $100 billion investment from Micron Technology for a mammoth semiconductor operation will transform this region in New York State.
Micron Technology, Inc., one of the world’s largest semiconductor companies and the only U.S.-based manufacturer of memory, will build the largest semiconductor fabrication facility in the history of the United States in Clay, NY in Onondaga County. Announced in October 2022, the new megafab will increase domestic supply of leading-edge memory and create nearly 50,000 jobs, including approximately 9,000 Micron jobs with an average annual salary of over $100,000 and over 40,000 community jobs—and create tens of thousands of prevailing wage construction jobs.
Micron will invest the up to $100 billion over the next 20 years to construct a new megafab, with the first phase investment of $20 billion planned by the end of the decade. This represents the largest private investment in New York State history. Micron will design, build and operate the facility in accordance with its sustainability goals. The site is planned to include four 600,000-square-foot cleanrooms, for a total of 2.4 million square feet of cleanroom space.
Site preparation work begins this year, construction will begin in 2024, and production output will ramp in the latter half of this decade, gradually increasing in line with industry demand trends. Locating Micron’s industry-leading DRAM (dynamic random access memory) production in the U.S. brings benefits for its customers, enabling them to build their innovative products and solutions using a more resilient, secure and geographically diverse supply chain.
“I am grateful to President Biden and his Administration for making the CHIPS and Science Act a priority, to Senator Schumer and a bipartisan coalition in Congress for passing the legislation, and to Governor Hochul and County Executive McMahon for the local and state partnerships that made this investment possible. Micron will leverage the diverse, highly educated and skilled talent in New York as we look to build our workforce in the Empire State,” said Micron President and CEO Sanjay Mehrotra. “This historic leading-edge memory megafab in Central New York will deliver benefits beyond the semiconductor industry by strengthening U.S. technology leadership as well as economic and national security, driving American innovation and competitiveness for decades to come.”
New York State negotiated $5.5 billion in incentives through the first in the nation Green CHIPS Incentive Program, passed in 2022, alongside anticipated federal grants and tax credits from the CHIPS and Science Act. To capitalize on the federal bill, New York State crafted the performance-based Green CHIPS incentive program which not only requires at least $3 billion in investment, a 15:1 ROI, and concrete community benefits, it requires adherence to a documented sustainability plan designed to mitigate its greenhouse gas emissions and environmental impact, including utilizing 100% renewable energy, attaining LEED Gold status, and committing to greenhouse gas emission targets and reporting. The Micron project is estimated to result in a total benefit-cost ratio of approximately 20:1, meaning it will directly spend $20 on capital investment, research and development, and salaries and wages for every $1 of support provided by New York State.