New York backs 345kV line to boost Micron’s $100B semiconductor plant

According to Reuters, the New York State Public Service Commission has approved a 345-kilovolt underground power line connecting the Clay substation to Micron Technology’s upcoming $100 billion semiconductor megafab in Onondaga County.

The announcement, made by Governor Kathy Hochul on Thursday, marks a major step in what’s being called the largest private investment in New York’s history.

The two-mile line will deliver the power needed for the massive Micron facility, which is projected to create more than 50,000 jobs over the next two decades, including 9,000 direct roles within the company itself.

Hochul said the state is “moving quickly ahead with all due speed and deliberation,” describing the project as one that will transform Central New York.

The Public Service Commission also approved environmental and construction plans for the first phase, which include expanding the Clay substation and installing new equipment to connect it to the plant.

The approval follows a 2022 agreement between Micron and New York State, when the company chose the region to house its advanced chip factory aimed at producing one in four U.S.-made semiconductors by 2030.

Micron halts data center chip supply to China after 2023 ban

While Micron is expanding at home, the company is cutting off its data center chip supply to China after the business failed to recover from Beijing’s 2023 ban on its products in critical infrastructure.

The ban effectively locked Micron out of a market worth billions, and it hasn’t bounced back since. The decision follows ongoing U.S.-China trade tensions, which have intensified since 2018, when Donald Trump first imposed tariffs on Chinese imports and the U.S. began targeting Chinese tech firms with security claims.

Micron was the first American chipmaker targeted by Beijing, a move widely viewed as retaliation for Washington’s export controls meant to limit China’s semiconductor progress. Nvidia and Intel have also been accused by Chinese authorities of posing security risks, though neither has faced direct action.

Micron said the data center division “had been impacted by the ban” and reaffirmed that it complies with all local regulations wherever it operates.

Even with the exit, Micron will keep selling chips to two Chinese clients that run data centers outside China, one of which is Lenovo. The company earned $3.4 billion, about 12% of its annual revenue, from mainland China last year and plans to continue serving automotive and mobile phone manufacturers in the country.

Micron faces AI competition losses but stays active in China

The Chinese ban forced Micron to miss out on the country’s AI-driven data center boom, which jumped ninefold to 24.7 billion yuan ($3.4 billion) in 2024, according to the Reuters report.

That surge benefited Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix, and Chinese chipmakers YMTC and CXMT, all of which have been expanding aggressively with government backing.

Even as it lost ground in China, Micron’s global business has been lifted by demand from AI data centers elsewhere, pushing the company to report record quarterly revenue this year.

A company insider familiar with the operations allegedly said that over 300 people work on Micron’s China data center team, though it’s unclear how many jobs will be affected by the restructuring.

In August, Micron laid off several hundred employees in its universal flash storage division after deciding to end development of mobile NAND products globally. Yet, Micron is not walking away entirely, the company continues to expand its packaging plant in Xian, keeping its local operations active.

“We have a strong operating and customer presence in China, and China remains an important market for Micron and the semiconductor industry in general,” Micron said in its statement.

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