Risch: Vote against chips bill ‘painful.’ What leaders said as Micron broke ground
Boise Mayor Lauren McLean said the city did everything it could to encourage Micron Technology Inc. to expand at its headquarters.
The company broke ground Monday at the site of its new $15 billion memory manufacturing fab. Micron leaders appeared alongside government officials and business leaders who helped Micron bring the fab to its Southeast Boise campus, south of the Gowen Road exit from Interstate 84.
“We did all that we could to keep this investment here,” McLean said. “Our city and this company have really evolved together. We are so proud that Micron has chosen Boise.”
The fab is expected to generate about 2,000 direct jobs at Micron and 15,000 indirect jobs in industries across Idaho. The company has also said the jobs will be high paying.
Micron President and CEO Sanjay Mehrotra, Idaho Gov. Brad Little, Sen. Jim Risch, U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm and Dr. Alondra Nelson, director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, also made remarks at the ceremony.
The event commenced with a red, white and blue explosion in the distance. Then officials turned shovels of dirt in front of a U.S. flag suspended by heavy construction equipment.
Micron’s cofounding brothers attend
Gov. Brad Little acknowledged two of the founders of Micron in attendance, Ward and Joe Parkinson.
“This piece of real estate and this company here, started by two brothers from the potato capital of the world – how appropriate is that?” Little said. “They came here with about three or four Idaho innovators, and I’m sure when they had their groundbreaking, it was probably with some farmer’s old backhoe.”
Risch: Idaho delegation backs semiconductor subsidy
Sen. Jim Risch said the groundbreaking was possible only because of the work he and others did in Congress to subsidize U.S. construction of semiconductor manufacturing, in part for national security. Most semiconductor plants are overseas.
While the entire Idaho congressional delegation ultimately voted against the $280 billion CHIPS and Science Act, that was only after a considerable amount of spending was added to support other ventures unrelated to the $52 billion in support of the semiconductor industry, Risch said.
At the event, Risch said he and his colleagues, including Sen. Mike Crapo and Reps. Russ Fulcher and Mike Simpson, “painfully voted no,” knowing the legislation would likely still pass, and if it didn’t, they could pass a standalone bill with the $52 billion.
President Joe Biden signed the CHIPS and Science Act into law Aug. 9. Granholm and Nelson flew from Washington D.C. to Boise to attend the groundbreaking ceremony on Biden’s behalf, according to a White House spokesperson.
White House science official on education pipeline
Nelson told the Idaho Statesman during an exclusive interview Monday that Micron’s investments could transform education in the state.
“If we are going to succeed, and we are going to succeed, in fulfilling the bold mission behind the CHIPS and Science (Act), we literally cannot afford to leave anybody behind,” Nelson said. “This has important implications for the region.”
Earlier this month, the company announced a partnership with the College of Western Idaho to deliver curriculum, such as advanced mechatronics engineering technology, to rural and underrepresented students. Mechatronics is a field within mechanical engineering.
CWI says it will lead efforts to deliver semiconductor programs and prepare students for Micron’s internships and technician apprenticeship program.
The company’s fab in Boise is set to be operational in 2025. It hopes to fill the new jobs with local talent.
“It’s going to take a couple years, but we need to reach those workers, reach those students and get them in this apprenticeship program,” Nelson said. “Get folks ready for the fab to be up and running. It’s the smart way to do it.”
This story was originally published September 12, 2022 at 4:01 PM.
