2.26.24 - Semiconductor manufacturing expected to strain NY electrical grid
' As some of New York’s most influential politicians celebrate the infusion of federal money to expand the GlobalFoundries Fab 8 campus in Malta, questions remain about the ability of the state’s electrical grid to meet the needs of another high-demand project.
The project will expand the current semiconductor manufacturing plant while adding a second facility, estimated to be 358,000 square feet, that GlobalFoundries said will triple their capacity.
But the process of manufacturing semiconductors requires significant energy to power operations, with estimates that the Micron plant near Syracuse will use up to 928 megawatts by 2035. One megawatt powers roughly 750 to 1,000 households.
In 2023, prior to the major expansion’s announcement, GlobalFoundries had plans on file with local municipalities noting that its structures would run on 195 megawatts when completed. The new multi-billion dollar expansion will bring a significant jump in that required energy.
The Times Union reported in January 2023 that the growing semiconductor industry would place a strain on the electrical grid’s reliability margins.
The growth comes as the state is transitioning energy sources toward renewables and away from fossil fuels to meet requirements in New York’s ambitious Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act, signed into law in 2019. The climate law requires that 70 percent of statewide electricity come from renewable energy by 2030, and that New York’s electricity system is completely emission-free by 2040.
The New York Independent System Operator — a not-for-profit that manages the state’s electrical grid and marketplace — estimated in its Jan. 12 quarterly report on reliability that approximately 260 megawatts of large loads were installed across the state in recent years. That amount is projected to increase to 764 megawatts in 2025, reducing the reliability margin during normal operations and weather to less than 100 megawatts.
In November 2022, Gov. Kathy Hochul signed a moratorium “proof-of-work” cryptocurrency mining relying on fossil fuels, another area of large load projects, a measure that is in effect for two years. The debate over that legislation centered around whether New York should allow old fossil fuel-based plants to be brought back online and to help power the intense computer processing needed to create the “blockchains” that cryptocurrency is made of.
The Independent System Operator's comprehensive reliability plan estimated that the reliability margin could be eliminated within the decade.
“When considering the impact of proposed large load projects, the available statewide reliability margin decreases and approaches a deficiency in 2030 for higher demand scenarios,” the plan says. '