Nov 23
2021
Report: Samsung building plant in Texas
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The tech giant Samsung has apparently decided where it’s going to build a new $17 billion microchip plant in the United States and a report from the Wall Street Journal suggests the project won’t be landing at a large industrial site in rural Genesee County.
The Wall Street Journal reported early Tuesday that the company will build its plant in Taylor, Texas. While representatives from Samsung have not confirmed the decision, the Journal reported that the decision on the selection of Taylor will be discussed at 5 p.m. today when Texas Gov. Greg Abbott is scheduled to make an “economic announcement.”
Taylor – a city of about 18,000 in central Texas, and part of the metropolitan Austin area – and surrounding Williamson County both agreed to huge incentive packages to attract Samsung.
The Austin American-Statesmen reported last week that the Taylor Independent School District approved an incentive deal that would provide Samsung with $300 million in tax savings. That agreement followed prior approvals for incentive packages by both the City of Taylor and Williamson County that would provide Samsung with another $350 million in tax savings over 10 years.
In addition to Taylor and Genesee County, Samsung reportedly considered sites in Austin and suburban Phoenix.
U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-New York, and officials from the Genesee County Economic Development Center had hoped to lure Samsung’s chip plant to a 1,260-acre industrial site known as the Science and Technology Advanced Manufacturing Park in the Town of Alabama.
“Senator Schumer believes STAMP remains a leading site for companies looking to locate or expand in New York, as recently evidenced by Plug Power’s decision to build its new green hydrogen fuel production facility there. Sen. Schumer’s primary focus remains working closely with Genesee County and New York State officials to push companies that are actively considering STAMP to locate here,” said Schumer spokeswoman Allison Biasotti.
The county’s economic development agency has so far invested more than $26 million in mostly state funds from the Buffalo Billion program to develop the site. For years, the site sat vacant before finally landing its first industrial tenant – a hydrogen fuel producer called Plug Power.
Last month, Plug Power broke ground on a $290 million hydrogen fuel production facility at the STAMP. As part of a development agreement with the Genesee County IDA, Plug Power has agreed to build a substation that officials say will help lure additional tenants to the property.
A spokesperson for the Genesee County Economic Development Center declined comment when asked about the Wall Street Journal report on Samsung’s decision, saying the agency “does not comment on the status or specifics of any company’s due diligence.”
