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[News] U.S. House Passes Bill to Expedite Domestic Chip Manufacturing by Providing Exemptions
A few weeks ago, Intel is said to be seeking assistance from the U.S. government, as CEO Pat Gelsinger reportedly turned to Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo to emphasize the significance of U.S. chip manufacturing. Now here’s the latest development: according to a report by Bloomberg, the U.S. House has passed a bill that exempts certain semiconductor manufacturing projects from federal permitting requirements, which is expected to benefit companies like Intel and TSMC.
According to Bloomberg, the move aims to alleviate concerns that environmental reviews and legal challenges could slow the construction of domestic chip plants.
The report notes that spurred by incentives from the 2022 Chips and Science Act, chipmakers have committed around USD 400 billion to build factories in the US. Companies such as Intel and TSMC are set to receive billions in funding from the act to support major projects nationwide. Other tech giants, including Micron, Samsung, SK hynix and GlobalFoundries, are also getting billions in U.S. subsidies.
However, many of the projects are facing delays. For instance, Intel’s Fab 52 and Fab 62 in Arizona are previously scheduled to be completed in 2024. However, the schedule may be reportedly delayed a bit, as the fabs are likely to begin operations later this year or in early 2025. The USD 20 billion project in Ohio, on the other hand, may be facing larger obstacles as Intel has delayed the plan after 2026 due to market downturns and delays in U.S. subsidies.
The pending awards, according to Bloomberg, currently require semiconductor construction sites to undergo National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) reviews, a process that could last months or even years. Now it would be streamlined by the legislation passed on Monday.
The bill specifies three criteria for Chips Act-funded projects to qualify for a NEPA exemption, Bloomberg states.
First, projects must begin construction before the end of this year, a requirement that most major sites should be able to meet, except for a Micron’s project in New York, which has not yet met permitting requirements under the Clean Water Act and various state regulations, Bloomberg explains.
Second, projects that receive only loans—not direct grant funding—would be exempt from NEPA reviews, although this provision currently does not apply to any Chips Act incentive packages.
Finally, facilities would qualify for an exemption if grant funding constitutes less than 10% of project costs, a decrease from the previous threshold of 15% in an earlier version of the legislation, the report notes.
It is worth noting that the proposal, waiting for Biden’s nod, illustrates the dilemma the U.S. government is currently facing. For one thing, the U.S. authority is eager to expedite the construction of chip factories to reduce reliance on Asia, particularly Taiwan. On the other hand, the White House has set ambitious climate goals, and building semiconductor plants could complicate efforts to achieve these targets, according to Bloomberg.
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(Photo credit: Intel)
