Lehi will be the home of an $11 billion investment in semiconductor manufacturing after Texas Instruments announced plans to expand their current facilities, making it, Utah Gov. Spencer Cox says, the largest private economic investment in the state.
Utah also extended an offer for a post-performance refundable tax credit of 30% of new taxes the company will pay over the next 20 years, said Ryan Starks, executive director of the Governor’s Office of Economic Opportunity, during a news conference on Wednesday.
“With this additional capacity, we will put a lot more silicon into the Silicon Slopes,” said Haviv Ilan, executive vice president and chief operating officer for Texas Instruments, during a news conference alongside the governor.
(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) Gov. Spencer Cox and Haviv Ilan of Texas Instruments announce plans for an $11 billion investment and new facility in Lehi during a news conference at the Capitol building in Salt Lake City on Wednesday, Feb. 15, 2023.
The Texas company will begin construction on a second 300-millimeter semiconductor wafer fabrication plant in Utah County later this year, adding 800 jobs to the 1,100 workforce Texas Instruments currently has in Lehi, it said. The semiconductors will be used primarily for automotive and industrial uses, according to Ilan.
While Utah has been fighting historic drought conditions, Cox said he believes Utah has the water infrastructure to support the facility and the growth it will bring.
“We’ve been looking at water consumption, changing water consumption with what we’ve learned over the past two summers as Utahns have shown an ability to use significantly less water,” Cox told a large crowd at the Utah Capitol Gold Room.
Shortly after the news conference, Sen. Mitt Romney “applauded” the announcement in a news release.
“I was proud to support the legislation that made this historic investment in our state possible, which will strengthen our country’s manufacturing capabilities and help break U.S. dependence on China for microchips,” Romney said in the statement.
Last year, Congress passed bipartisan legislation, the CHIPS and Science Act, to increase the production, research and development of semiconductors in the United States.
In attendance at the news conference in support of the company’s expansion in Utah was U.S. Rep. Burgess Owens, who voted against the resolution last summer. Romney was the only member of Utah’s federal delegation to vote in favor of the act.
Update, Feb 15, 3:00 p.m. • This story has been updated to include how Utah’s congressional delegation voted on the CHIPS and Science Act.
