Buckeye Reporter

Senator Bernie Moreno (R-Ohio) has sent a letter to Intel’s Chief Executive Officer Lip-Bu Tan, seeking an update on the delayed $20 billion semiconductor factory project in New Albany, Ohio. The facility, announced nearly four years ago, was initially scheduled to open in 2025 and was expected to be the largest investment in Ohio's history.

In his letter, Senator Moreno highlighted concerns about the project's significant delays and its impact on state and local stakeholders. He wrote, "It is my responsibility to ensure that the ratepayers and taxpayers in the state of Ohio are not being taken advantage of and to ensure that this investment is not a charade or worse potential fraud. Ohio has consistently stepped up to support Intel. Intel must provide answers now. Time is of the essence."

The project had been promoted as creating 3,000 jobs at Intel and 7,000 construction jobs during its development phase. Intel also estimated that it could eventually expand its investment at the site to $100 billion over ten years.

To support the development, Ohio provided $2 billion in public incentives and invested at least $691 million in new infrastructure for the site. Despite these commitments, Intel announced workforce reductions of 30 percent in 2024 and postponed opening the first factory until at least 2030—five years later than planned.

Moreno's letter referenced further delays announced by Intel in July that affected both the timeline and pace of construction. He emphasized that "the taxpayers of Ohio deserve accurate and thorough information about the status of the enormous promises that your company made to our citizens and return on investment, or lack thereof, of the taxpayers’ investment in this project."

Additionally, Moreno requested that Intel avoid passing extra infrastructure costs onto Ohio ratepayers due to unused power capacity. He noted Meta’s request for a temporary reassignment of approximately 200MW of power originally allocated for Intel’s use and suggested reassigning any remaining excess power from Intel to interested entities like Meta.

Senator Moreno asked for detailed updates from Intel within ten business days regarding the current status of both factories and related financial matters.