Intel picks Ohio for semiconductor project (Columbus, Cleveland: to buy, public schools, colleges)
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Most of that land here in AZ was in farms and orchards before being turned into suburbs. We live in Gilbert and there are still some fields of corn and alfalfa close to our home. Unfortunately, the southeast valley is now mostly a sea of tract housing and strip malls.
Congrats to Ohio for landing such a significant project. We need more high-value manufacturing in the U.S.
Yes, I hear you…I’d respectfully point out a couple things:
In the initial growth phase (80s/90s), lots of Intel folks bought up homes in places like Ahwatukee / Foothills Village and pressed up hard against those desert scapes near South Mountain. Less so but also Scottsdale and areas north. Guess that development was inevitable, but Intel helped accelerate it.
With tens of thousands of direct/ indirect employees, these folks drive demand for things like golf courses…including the over-watered atrocities carved out of the Superstitions, McDowells, etc.
To be sure, Ohio will see its share of new tract home developments and strip malls as well. I hope there is comparatively less impact. Fortunately, the Hocking Hills are too far away to mess up.
The Intel plant will be built in Jersey Township in Licking County, and will be annexed to New Albany in Franklin County. New Albany is an affluent bedroom community (median single detached home price of $600,000). New Albany gets its water & sewer service from Columbus. Most of Columbus water comes from the Olentangy river. The city of Wooster, Ohio averaged 3 million gallons a day of water production for a population of 27,000. The chip plant might use 5 million gallons a day.
The chip plant will probably get its electricity from either AEP or Licking Rural Electric. AEP gets 47% of its electricity from coal, while Licking Rural electric is a coop which gets its electricity from the coal-fired Buckeye power plant (like my coop). The final equation for turning quartz into silicon is SiO2 + C = Si + CO2. The carbon source is coal and/or wood chips. Michael Moore's film Planet of the Humans has a good discussion about using biomass (wood) for energy.
So this plant is going to use a lot of water, a lot of electricity, and a lot of coal, both directly and indirectly.
Everything everyone already menionted aside, I'm not doubting great eocnomic impact, but am I the only one that sees this creating some really ugly exurban sprawling developments in former farmland? Always makes me sad to keep losing these spaces.
The area I live in is a perfect example of this, Warren County used to be a wonderful place to live but it has been destroyed by the developers in the last 30 years. Air quality is down the crapper, changing the albedo of the landscape has made summers much hotter, traffic backups in places where streets are inadequate and cannot be widened, increased roadside litter, crime so high that taxpayers have to fund a jail expansion, higher noise levels, overcrowded schools and constant tax levies, pompous McMansion people who have changed the culture and character of the area for the worse, the list goes on and on.
I have neighbors who I grew up with and went to school with 40 years ago and we all say the same, Lebanon is not Lebanon anymore.
Congrats to Columbus on this monumental win but I do have a couple minor questions...1)Columbus water comes from the Olentangy River/Griggs Reservoir...who gets the water out of Big Walnut Creek/Hoover Reservoir? And will this plant take water from both? If so, how will it affect those bodies of water? I know they have been improving the flow of the Olentangy River through the campus area.
2)I see JobsOhio was highly involved w/ this...I find that disturbing because I've never seen JobsOhio do anything for NE Ohio...yet they did a lot to get GE's big back office facility into to Cincinnati and then this into Columbus...why won't they do anything to help get something like this into Cleveland? They gave us no help when we were potentially going to lose Sherwin Williams HQ...thank god the County and City stepped up to keep them here....
3) How will this help the rest of the state? It's going to take a lot of tax dollars to add infrastructure in booming Central Ohio...that could take away from the rest of the state...and how will it benefit areas like Cleveland or Toledo or Cincy?
Everything everyone already menionted aside, I'm not doubting great eocnomic impact, but am I the only one that sees this creating some really ugly exurban sprawling developments in former farmland? Always makes me sad to keep losing these spaces.
As wonderful news as this is, I always wonder why the state and municipal governments don't encourage building in brownfields or on vacant industrial sites. It would just make so much more sense to locate in an area with existing infrastructure than to bulldoze productive farmland.
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Originally Posted by Dave_n_Tenn
Biden will be sending coal miners to Ohio to learn to 'code'.
Whoa. That's wildly off topic.
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Originally Posted by SlideRules99
Big picture though. Carving up some midwestern farmland is a lesser environmental sin that what has happened in Arizona during Intel’s multiple expansions since the 90s. Thousands of acres of pristine Sonoran Desert have been consumed by developers as a function of that growth south and east of Phoenix.
Why is one more favorable than the other?
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Originally Posted by Wile E. Coyote
I guarantee you Intel is getting massive tax breaks to move to Ohio.
Someone sold their soul to the devil, for sure. Let's just hope Intel doesn't pull up stakes two weeks after its tax breaks expire - because it does happen.
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Originally Posted by woxyroxme
The area I live in is a perfect example of this, Warren County used to be a wonderful place to live but it has been destroyed by the developers in the last 30 years. Air quality is down the crapper, changing the albedo of the landscape has made summers much hotter, traffic backups in places where streets are inadequate and cannot be widened, increased roadside litter, crime so high that taxpayers have to fund a jail expansion, higher noise levels, overcrowded schools and constant tax levies, pompous McMansion people who have changed the culture and character of the area for the worse, the list goes on and on.
No doubt some of those characteristics apply to New Albany as well, which not so long ago was a blink-and-you-miss-it kind of village.
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I have neighbors who I grew up with and went to school with 40 years ago and we all say the same, Lebanon is not Lebanon anymore.
It's certainly not like Lebanon hasn't been encouraging growth for the past 40 years, though; and Lebanon can't control growth in the surrounding townships.
Congrats to Columbus on this monumental win but I do have a couple minor questions...1)Columbus water comes from the Olentangy River/Griggs Reservoir...who gets the water out of Big Walnut Creek/Hoover Reservoir? And will this plant take water from both? If so, how will it affect those bodies of water? I know they have been improving the flow of the Olentangy River through the campus area.
2)I see JobsOhio was highly involved w/ this...I find that disturbing because I've never seen JobsOhio do anything for NE Ohio...yet they did a lot to get GE's big back office facility into to Cincinnati and then this into Columbus...why won't they do anything to help get something like this into Cleveland? They gave us no help when we were potentially going to lose Sherwin Williams HQ...thank god the County and City stepped up to keep them here....
3) How will this help the rest of the state? It's going to take a lot of tax dollars to add infrastructure in booming Central Ohio...that could take away from the rest of the state...and how will it benefit areas like Cleveland or Toledo or Cincy?
Or the Mahoning Valley area. Seems something like this could have been really good there, and as mentioned, already plenty of former industry space this could have gone.
Or the Mahoning Valley area. Seems something like this could have been really good there, and as mentioned, already plenty of former industry space this could have gone.
Unfortunately the distance to a suitable international airport would likely take the Mahoning Valley out of the conversation. CLE and PIT are too far. I’d bet Intel was very specific with their specs on this.
As far as former industrial space…if you look at Intel’s global wafer Fabs, they are all built upon flat, open desert or farmland. With plenty of room to expand. Their “mini city” concept doesn’t seem to retrofit very well into existing industrial space and whatever constraints those may have. Just my observation.
2)I see JobsOhio was highly involved w/ this...I find that disturbing because I've never seen JobsOhio do anything for NE Ohio...yet they did a lot to get GE's big back office facility into to Cincinnati and then this into Columbus...why won't they do anything to help get something like this into Cleveland? They gave us no help when we were potentially going to lose Sherwin Williams HQ...thank god the County and City stepped up to keep them here....
3) How will this help the rest of the state? It's going to take a lot of tax dollars to add infrastructure in booming Central Ohio...that could take away from the rest of the state...and how will it benefit areas like Cleveland or Toledo or Cincy?
JobsOhio has a network of six regions that cover the state. When Intel reached out to JobsOhio, JobsOhio sent the specs to all six regions asking regional directors for potential sites. Apparently only Columbus responded with a potential location, which ultimately was selected.
As far as benefits to the rest of the state…
New and existing suppliers will set up shop in OH to service the needs of the new mega-chip complex. My guess would be any place within a couple hours via interstate will be viable. Here’s an example showing the mayor of New Philadelphia positioning to attract suppliers.
In-state college graduates and technical professionals will have an in-state mega employer to launch careers. Good for anyone looking to remain in OH after graduation, and good recruiting point for OH colleges.
Wealth creation anywhere in the state will have some spillover effect in places like Cincy, CLE, etc. People take day trips, spend entertainment money, and the likes.
Public Relations. If all goes well, Ohio’s image will see a boost as a premier tech hub and perhaps the rust belt image will be buried. This likely spurs additional investment and attracts talent to the state.
JobsOhio has a network of six regions that cover the state. When Intel reached out to JobsOhio, JobsOhio sent the specs to all six regions asking regional directors for potential sites. Apparently only Columbus responded with a potential location, which ultimately was selected.
As far as benefits to the rest of the state…
New and existing suppliers will set up shop in OH to service the needs of the new mega-chip complex. My guess would be any place within a couple hours via interstate will be viable. Here’s an example showing the mayor of New Philadelphia positioning to attract suppliers.
In-state college graduates and technical professionals will have an in-state mega employer to launch careers. Good for anyone looking to remain in OH after graduation, and good recruiting point for OH colleges.
Wealth creation anywhere in the state will have some spillover effect in places like Cincy, CLE, etc. People take day trips, spend entertainment money, and the likes.
Public Relations. If all goes well, Ohio’s image will see a boost as a premier tech hub and perhaps the rust belt image will be buried. This likely spurs additional investment and attracts talent to the state.
The Intel plant will be built in Jersey Township in Licking County, and will be annexed to New Albany in Franklin County. New Albany is an affluent bedroom community (median single detached home price of $600,000). New Albany gets its water & sewer service from Columbus. Most of Columbus water comes from the Olentangy river. The city of Wooster, Ohio averaged 3 million gallons a day of water production for a population of 27,000. The chip plant might use 5 million gallons a day.
The chip plant will probably get its electricity from either AEP or Licking Rural Electric. AEP gets 47% of its electricity from coal, while Licking Rural electric is a coop which gets its electricity from the coal-fired Buckeye power plant (like my coop). The final equation for turning quartz into silicon is SiO2 + C = Si + CO2. The carbon source is coal and/or wood chips. Michael Moore's film Planet of the Humans has a good discussion about using biomass (wood) for energy.
So this plant is going to use a lot of water, a lot of electricity, and a lot of coal, both directly and indirectly.
Very good post. Only thing I’d clarify is that Intel sources its raw electronic-grade silicon from 3rd party suppliers…they don’t actually manufacture silicon. The carbon/coal intensive processes are done elsewhere, often offshore. But true, they are driving the demand for the activities.
That said, it’s quite possible one or more of the raw silicon suppliers could choose set up shop near the future New Albany mega-Fab complex in the interest of supply chain efficiencies.
Intel’s core manufacturing competency is wafer fabrication, ie, “printing” integrated circuits on the silicon wafers through a series of complex processes that take many months per chip.
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