The semiconductor corporation Micron Technology may be receiving more funding for its Central New York project, which is designed to increase domestic chip production.
On Wednesday, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer announced that Micron had reached a preliminary agreement with the U.S. Department of Commerce to receive $6.1 billion for the Syracuse-area project and the company’s Idaho project.
Before Micron is granted the funding, the Department of Commerce will complete a review of the company’s application and the proposal. When that process is complete, the department will finalize the financial award for the company.
Micron’s $100 billion investment in central New York will also be aided by billions in federal CHIPS and Science Act funding.
The CHIPS and Science Act was approved by Congress and signed by President Joe Biden in 2022, and includes a $52 billion boost to domestic semiconductor chip manufacturing. The legislation’s supporters included Sen. Schumer, U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand and former U.S. Rep. John Katko, who represented central New York and broke with House GOP leadership to vote for the bill.
The potential $6.1 billion for Micron is another indication of the central New York project advancing, and New York’s portion of the funding will be used to support the construction of Micron’s first two chip fabs in Onondaga County, according to Schumer.
“This is one of the largest single-direct federal investments in central New York’s history,” Schumer said in a statement. “A whopping $6.1 billion from my CHIPS and Science law is coming to ensure Micron builds its cutting-edge chip-manufacturing fabs right here in both central New York and Idaho.”
Micron’s semiconductor chip manufacturing facility will be located in the town of Clay, Onondaga County. The project to expected to create 9,000 jobs at the chip fabs and more than 40,000 construction and supply-chain jobs. President Biden visited the Syracuse area after Micron announced its plans to invest $100 billion over the next 20 years.
Other companies that have been awarded CHIPS and Science Act funding include GlobalFoundries and Intel. GlobalFoundries is eligible to get $1.6 billion in loans and $1.5 billion in grants to build a computer chip manufacturing facility in Saratoga County.
“To all those who have had their doubts, believe it, Micron is here, Micron is real,” Schumer said. “And now with billions in federal investment from my CHIPS & Science law, we are taking the next steps to get shovels in the ground to transform the Syracuse region and all of upstate into a global hub for the chips that will power America’s future.”
Micron plans to begin construction in 2025.
