WASHINGTON, July 6 — The sprawling construction site in Licking County, Ohio, feels less like a factory rising from the cornfields and more like a small city taking shape. By nightfall, the glow of floodlights illuminates a landscape of steel beams and concrete foundations. This is the future of Intel’s $20 billion facility, a cornerstone of the CHIPS and Science Act.
That law, signed by President Joe Biden on August 9, 2022, authorized $52.7 billion in federal subsidies to revive domestic semiconductor manufacturing. The act includes $39 billion in manufacturing incentives and $11 billion for research and development, plus a 25% investment tax credit for chip fabrication plants.
On the ground, the impact is visible in three massive projects now underway. Intel broke ground on its Ohio mega-site in September 2022. Months later, in December 2022, Taiwan’s TSMC announced a $40 billion expansion of its Arizona fab, building two advanced facilities.
Then, in March 2023, Samsung unveiled plans for a $17 billion chip plant in Texas. Together, these investments represent the most aggressive push to bring chipmaking back to American soil in decades.
The urgency is clear. By 2021, the U.S. produced only about 12% of the world’s semiconductors, a steep drop from 37% in 1990. The act targets a rebound: by 2030, the U.S. aims to produce 20% of advanced chips.
That goal is a direct response to vulnerabilities exposed during the COVID-19 pandemic, when supply chains from Asian foundries seized up, crippling auto plants and electronics makers. Critics, however, point out a stubborn reality: building chip fabs takes years. TSMC’s Arizona plant, initially slated to open in 2024, was delayed to 2025 due to labor shortages and regulatory hurdles.
The same challenges could slow other projects. The act is widely seen as a strategic counter to China’s ambitions in semiconductors, a race where time is not on Washington’s side.
The scene at Intel’s Ohio site captures both the promise and the patience required. Residents describe a constant hum of construction equipment, a sound of economic revival. But the first chips won’t roll off the line for years.
For now, the CHIPS Act remains a bet on the future—one that will test whether America can rebuild an industry it once dominated.
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