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To evaluate a site for semiconductor fab construction, verify that the specific project can obtain dependable power and water, move people and materials efficiently, and build safely on the site’s ground conditions. There is no universal pass/fail threshold: compare candidates against the same fab design, schedule, capacity assumptions, and risk horizon, using documented engineering and utility evidence—not assurances alone.
Power capacity without a credible delivery plan, water supply without wastewater capacity, or level land with costly earthwork can all make a site less viable than it first appears. Screen those fundamentals early, then weigh hazards, permitting, workforce, ecosystem, cost, and regional factors together.
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What should you establish before comparing sites?
Define the project first. A site cannot be judged meaningfully against a generic checklist because the fab’s layout, development phases, utility loads, construction plan, and expansion needs determine what “adequate” means. The Congressional Research Service identifies factors including electricity cost and reliability, water and wastewater, transportation, workforce, regulation, land, incentives, customer proximity, and security; their relative importance depends on the project and location.
Set a common basis for every candidate, including:
- How many fabs or production buildings are planned, their approximate layout, and likely phases of development.
- The project’s expected utility loads, delivery timing, and reliability needs, as established by the design and operators.
- Construction sequencing, expected excavation and fill, and the routes and modes needed to move materials.
- Expansion assumptions, the time horizon for infrastructure, and the risks that the project can or cannot mitigate.
- The applicable permitting and environmental-review pathway for each jurisdiction.
Then ask for evidence tied to those assumptions: utility capacity and delivery plans, water and wastewater documentation, transportation access and routing, and topographic and geotechnical information suitable for engineering review. Record who is responsible for each proposed improvement, what must be built, and when it could be available. A site may appear feasible only because a future substation, water project, road, or other dependency is assumed to arrive on time.
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How do you evaluate power capacity and reliability?
Evaluate both whether enough electricity can be delivered for the fab’s planned buildout and whether the proposed service design can provide the continuity the project requires. A nearby transmission line is not proof of available capacity or a ready connection.
For each candidate, request documentation addressing:
- Available capacity and delivery path: What capacity is available for the project, and what transmission, interconnection, or system upgrades would be needed to serve it? Identify the responsible parties and expected sequence.
- Service schedule: When can the initial service be delivered, and when could additional capacity for later phases be available? Keep planned capacity distinct from capacity already committed or in service.
- Substation and equipment needs: Determine whether land is available for substations and transformers, whether the layout accommodates them, and what construction or permitting dependencies remain.
- Continuity and service design: Ask how the proposed feed arrangement addresses the fab’s reliability requirements, including the consequences of interruptions and voltage fluctuations. Have the operator and utility define what is needed for this specific project.
- Cost and contingencies: Include connection and upgrade costs, schedule risk, and plausible alternatives if a planned improvement is delayed.
The Micron Clay project criteria illustrate how detailed a project-specific review can be: they discuss proximity to transmission at 345 kV or higher, a feasible path to adequate capacity, land for substations and transformers, and continuous service with dual feeds and voltage stability. Those are criteria for that proposed project, not universal thresholds or a code for every fab. Use them as prompts for the questions to resolve, not as a generic specification to impose on another site.
Compare candidates on the evidence and the time needed to secure service, not just on a map of nearby lines. If a site needs a major upgrade, show that dependency explicitly in its schedule, cost, and risk assessment.
How do you assess water supply, wastewater, and resilience?
Assess water as a complete service chain: dependable source, delivery infrastructure, wastewater capacity and treatment, and the feasibility of reducing demand through reuse or reclaimed water. A supply estimate alone does not establish that the site can receive, treat, or return water as the project requires.
For each candidate, establish the proposed source or sources, delivery infrastructure and capacity, responsible provider, and timing. Confirm wastewater service separately: identify the receiving system, its capacity and required treatment, and any upgrades or approvals on the critical path. Ask whether recycling, reuse, or reclaimed-water options are technically and operationally feasible for the project, and what infrastructure and schedule those options require.
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Also examine resilience. Consider local water-resource risks and what happens if the assumed supply is constrained. A mitigation plan matters only if its source, delivery route, treatment, permissions, funding, and timing are credible. Compare mitigation costs and dependencies across sites rather than treating a proposed future water project as existing capacity.
In its 2024 draft environmental assessment for its Arizona project, TSMC cited adequate water resources among its site-selection factors and described city water and wastewater infrastructure. TSMC’s 2024 sustainability report says the company began planning an Arizona reclaimed-water plant in 2024 in response to local water-resource risks. The report also describes recycling, reuse, wastewater treatment, raising facility elevations, and flood gates among measures associated with its sites. These are company-reported plans and measures specific to TSMC and the relevant locations; they do not establish a standard solution or guarantee that reclaimed water is feasible elsewhere.
What transportation does a fab site need?
Assess transportation for both construction and operations. Site access must work for the construction program and the future facility, while major earthmoving can create substantial material-movement needs that are easy to overlook in an operations-focused review.
Map road access to the site and the routes required for construction materials and equipment. Identify access points, constraints on the proposed site layout, and any road or utility-access work needed before construction can proceed. Evaluate operational access as well as construction logistics; a route that is convenient for one phase may not resolve the needs of the other.
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Estimate whether excavation or imported fill will be substantial enough to make freight arrangements a major cost, schedule, or community issue. The Micron project criteria note that significant excavation and imported fill can make cost-effective transportation important. Consider rail or other freight where the project’s material quantities and local infrastructure make them relevant, but do not assume a particular mode is necessary for every fab. The available project sources establish no standard road distance or freight-capacity threshold.
TSMC’s Arizona draft assessment names transportation proximity as a site-selection factor and describes newly constructed arterial roads. Treat that as an example of project-specific access planning, not proof that a particular road configuration is sufficient for a different project. For comparison, document existing access separately from proposed improvements, including who must deliver them and by what date.
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How do soil, geology, and topography affect feasibility?
Review the ground against the proposed facility layout and foundation design, not in isolation. Topography and geology can affect where buildings fit, what foundations require, how much material must be excavated or imported, and the cost and schedule of site preparation.
Start with topographic information and geotechnical investigation adequate for engineering review. Ask whether the geology and ground conditions support the proposed layout and foundations, and whether the site’s contours require grading or limit usable areas. The answer must come from site-specific investigation and engineering; the source material does not establish generic acceptance limits for soil or geology.
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The Micron Clay environmental-review appendix describes project criteria for relatively flat topography and geology suitable for the proposed fab layout and foundations, while noting the cost and transport implications of substantial excavation or imported fill. NIST’s NEPA and CHIPS Act project page links Micron review materials on geology, soils, topography, and geotechnical engineering. Those records illustrate the scope of issues a project review may cover; the engineering requirements for another site depend on its facts and jurisdiction.
How should hazards, permitting, and regional fit change the decision?
Consider hazards and approvals alongside engineering and infrastructure, because they can change feasibility, mitigation cost, and schedule. A technically suitable parcel is not a practical choice if key approvals, service dependencies, or hazard mitigations cannot be resolved in time.
Screen for natural and geographic risks relevant to the location, including water availability and flood risk. Consider other documented climate or geographic concerns as appropriate to the site. For each material risk, ask whether it is avoidable, mitigable, or a possible fatal constraint, and document the evidence and cost behind that judgment.
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Map the project’s environmental review, permitting, utility connection, and water-service dependencies. Requirements and decisions vary with geography, design, and jurisdiction; a review framework from one project is not a universal statutory checklist. NIST’s project page reports that the Department of Commerce CHIPS Program Office completed the Record of Decision for the proposed Micron New York Semiconductor Manufacturing Project on December 16, 2025. The linked records illustrate how geology, soils, topography, water, and traffic can feature in a project’s environmental review; another project’s process and schedule will depend on its circumstances.
Finally, assess the regional factors that affect long-term delivery and operation: construction cost, incentives, workforce, maturity of the semiconductor ecosystem, applicable regulation, customer proximity, and security considerations. The CRS overview identifies these alongside utilities, transportation, and land. Intel’s written response in a U.S. Senate hearing likewise describes weighing land, infrastructure, construction cost, incentives, talent, ecosystem maturity, and climate and geographic concerns such as water availability, flood risk, and snow-load risk. Attribute those points to Intel’s company response; they are an example of a company’s stated screening considerations, not an industry-wide ranking.
How do you compare candidates without hiding risk?
Use the same scope, timing, assumptions, and costing method for every candidate. A common comparison prevents a site from appearing superior simply because its unresolved upgrades or risks were omitted.
- Set shared assumptions. Use the same project scope, phases, utility needs, expansion horizon, and construction assumptions for each site.
- Record evidence by category. For power, water and wastewater, transport, ground conditions, hazards, and approvals, distinguish current documented capacity from proposed improvements or unverified assumptions.
- Identify dependencies and owners. Note who must provide each service or improvement, what decisions or permits remain, and when the resource is expected to be available.
- Cost mitigation and delay exposure. Include needed infrastructure, site preparation, and other documented mitigation. Record schedule risk and consequences of delayed delivery as well as direct cost.
- Screen fatal constraints early. Determine whether land, utility delivery, water or wastewater, hazards, zoning, or approvals create a feasibility or schedule problem that cannot reasonably be mitigated.
- Make trade-offs visible. Present regional strengths, remaining risks, and unresolved evidence plainly. Weighting is project-specific; the sources do not support a universal score or fixed category weights.
A concise comparison can record, for each candidate, confirmed capacity, planned improvements, delivery timing, responsible party, evidence still needed, mitigation cost, and principal schedule risk. Keep those fields visible rather than compressing them into a single score that disguises uncertainty.
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Published project records show the breadth of site-selection considerations, but they do not create universal specifications or prove that one region is the best choice for every fab.
TSMC’s Arizona draft environmental assessment says the company’s selection considered an existing semiconductor ecosystem, suitable acreage, adequate reliable power, limited potential for natural disasters and adverse weather, adequate water resources, and transportation proximity. It also describes layout decisions in relation to utility interconnection points and site access, alongside city-installed water and wastewater infrastructure. This is a project example, not a general ranking of sites or a promise that equivalent infrastructure exists elsewhere.
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The Micron Clay project criteria provide detailed examples for power and ground conditions, including transmission access, service continuity, substation and transformer land, topography, geology, foundations, excavation, and fill. Their specificity makes them useful prompts for due diligence, but the criteria were developed for the proposed Micron project. They should not be treated as minimum requirements applicable to all fabs.
Intel’s hearing response adds the regional and operating context: stated considerations include construction cost, incentives, talent, ecosystem maturity, and climate and geographic concerns alongside land and infrastructure. The CRS overview offers a broader account of semiconductor-industry location factors. Taken together, these sources support a disciplined, project-specific comparison—not a one-size-fits-all scorecard.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a fab site be rejected before every engineering study is complete?
Yes. Early screening can identify constraints that are clearly infeasible or would require mitigation with unacceptable cost or timing. Treat that as a preliminary decision, document its basis, and do not present an early screen as a substitute for the investigations needed to confirm design suitability.
Who should confirm that a proposed power or water commitment is real?
The project should obtain written, project-specific information from the relevant utility or service provider and identify what approvals, upgrades, and delivery dates remain. A land seller’s or local sponsor’s assurance alone does not establish capacity, service design, or a completed connection.
Does a favorable environmental review mean every local permit is secured?
Not necessarily. Environmental review and permitting are related but distinct processes, and the approvals that apply depend on the project and jurisdiction. Track each required decision and authorization separately with its responsible agency and schedule.
Should a company choose the site with the lowest land price?
Not on that fact alone. A lower purchase cost can be offset by earthwork, utility upgrades, water or wastewater dependencies, transport needs, mitigation, or schedule exposure, so compare documented total project costs and risks on a common basis.
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