Dear reader,
It was one year ago in October that Micron made the monumental announcement of plans to build a $100 billion computer chip manufacturing complex in Clay. While it might seem like not much has happened since then, Glenn Coin, Micron reporter for syracuse.com and The Post-Standard, says it has actually been hard to keep up with everything that’s going on behind the scenes.
“Consultants are preparing environmental reports, colleges are adding programs and new facilities, development officials are courting supply companies, water and wastewater systems are being designed, and Micron has bought land for utilities and a childcare center,” Glenn told me. “We’re in the midst of the blur of planning and paperwork that precedes a project of this magnitude.”
Over the past year to help give readers perspective on the scope of this project, Glenn has talked to everyone from analysts in California and pipe-fitters in Idaho, to the twin brothers who founded Micron in Idaho in 1978.
“The manufacturing technology Micron will bring to Clay is among the most advanced in the world,” Glenn said. “Micron’s plan to build in Clay is a not only make-or-break venture for the world’s fifth-largest semiconductor company, but it’s also a key part of the U.S. government’s efforts to bring critical manufacturing back to our shores. Central New York lies at the core of an international story that touches on the future of technology, our national defense and the geopolitical battle between the U.S. and China over minute devices that power everything from cell phones to fighter jets.”
Glenn says Micron seems to be doing “everything you’d expect from a company that plans to break ground next year on a semiconductor plant,” but adds Central New Yorkers have every right to keep a critical eye on a project of this size and scale. “We should all be skeptical of a project this big that could get billions of our tax dollars. There are so many things…
Read the full article here
Leave a Reply