By Deborah Jeanne Sergeant
Editor’s Note: This story has been updated to reflect new information about the completion of the Micron project. During an interview with Oswego County Business Magazine, a Micron representative misspoke regarding the timeline for construction. A Micron spokesperson later stated that “construction generally takes 28 to 36 months, with Micron aiming to have wafers out the door later this decade.”
Micron’s investment of $100 billion for the next decade has captured the attention of the region, the state and nation.
The good news?
The project is going well, according to Bo Machayo, head of U.S. government and public affairs at Micron.
“We are excited about our expansion efforts in CNY,” Machayo said. “We are in the middle of our environmental review process. That is working with local, state and federal partners to make sure that we’re doing all that’s needed from an environmental point of view.”
That includes looking at the preliminary design, performing field studies and making permit applications for construction. The team will look at the building site’s impact regarding traffic and noise and how they will mitigate these effects in an environmentally appropriate way.
“We are committed to the site,” Machayo said.
The results of these studies won’t affect Micron’s selection of Clay for the self-described “microfab” chip plant.
“We do see that memory is very crucial to AI and we do make sure we’re getting our fabs up and running to meet the market demand that exists,” Machayo said. “The Clay site is an important piece for us to be able to do that. It’s more making sure that we are obliging by the process the local, state and federal governments want us to do and minimize any impacts that exist. It’s a normal process. We are working closely with our partners.”
So far, no issues have arisen. The company hopes to complete this phase of the process later this year with a tentative ground-breaking this November. Construction should take between 18 and 24 months with operations beginning in 2027.
“We don’t anticipate any delays,” Machayo said. “We have great federal, state and local government partners. We’re partnering well with them on a host of issues to make sure this project is super successful.”
Micron is opening an office in downtown Syracuse by mid-2025 and looking forward to hiring for its roles in the plant. Machayo said that one of the reasons Clay was selected is the availability of a good workforce and plenty of “low-cost, carbon-free energy options,” he said. “We continue to see great value in these partnerships to see how we can make this project the most successful. We’re the only company manufacturing memory in the nation. We’re looking forward to continuing to make progress on the site.”
Micron announced its expansion into New York in 2022. The Department of Commerce awarded the company $6.165 billion in direct funding to help support its construction in Boise, Idaho and Clay.
Current plans include four 600,000 sq. ft. cleanrooms, equaling the size of 40 US football fields. Micron has estimated that it will employ 9,000 in Clay and bring to the area 4,500 construction jobs along with 40,000 indirect jobs.
Providing training to the available workforce represents a vital key to the success of the project. Micron and New York state are investing $500 million in workforce and community development for the next 20-plus years, including training, education, and housing.
Micron intends to use only renewable electricity at the new plant and attain Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) gold status and companywide net zero emissions by 2050.
