Electrical Power
Electrical power is the single most critical utility for semiconductor fabs. Unlike most industrial facilities, fabs cannot tolerate outages, fluctuations, or “dirty” power. The enormous 24/7 energy demand must be delivered with absolute stability and quality — because even momentary disturbances can destroy wafers, damage tools, and cost millions in lost production. Understanding not only the quantity of power, but also the quality and availability, is essential for reliable chipmaking.
Scale of Demand
- Base Load: Modern fabs typically draw 200–400 MW continuously, with megafabs pushing toward gigawatt-scale demand.
- Comparison: A single fab may consume as much power as a mid-sized city (200,000–300,000 households).
- Growth Factor: Each new process node (e.g., EUV introduction) increases tool count and power consumption.
Why 24/7 Availability Is Critical
- Uninterrupted Processing: Wafers are processed through hundreds of sequential steps; interruptions can scrap entire batches.
- Tool Sensitivity: Photolithography steppers, etchers, and deposition tools are sensitive to even millisecond-scale power disruptions.
- Restart Complexity: Restarting a fab after an outage can take hours or days, with enormous cost implications.
- Cost of Downtime: A one-hour outage at a leading-edge fab can result in tens of millions of dollars in lost yield.
What “Clean Power” Means
For fabs, “clean power” refers to electricity that is free from disturbances or imperfections that can harm sensitive semiconductor equipment.
- Voltage Stability: Must remain within tight tolerances (±1–2%) to prevent tool resets and calibration drift.
- Frequency Stability: Must remain at exactly 60 Hz (U.S.) or 50 Hz (international); even small deviations can disrupt motors and RF sources.
- Harmonics & Noise: Harmonic distortion and electromagnetic noise must be filtered to protect precision power supplies and plasma tools.
- Transient Protection: Power surges, sags, and spikes must be absorbed by conditioning equipment before reaching process tools.
Power Conditioning & Delivery Systems
- Onsite Substations: Fabs connect directly to transmission grids via dedicated substations for stable delivery.
- Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS): Large-scale UPS systems provide milliseconds-to-minutes of backup to ride through disturbances.
- Diesel & Gas Turbine Generators: Provide emergency backup for longer outages, though not a substitute for grid stability.
- Static VAR Compensators (SVCs): Manage reactive power and voltage stability.
- Microgrids & BESS: Onsite battery systems buffer load fluctuations and improve power quality.
Power Quality Parameters for Fabs
Semiconductor fabs impose stricter power quality requirements than most industrial facilities. The table below summarizes key parameters and why they matter for chip manufacturing.
| Parameter | Typical Fab Requirement | Why It Matters |
|---|---|---|
| Voltage Stability | ±1–2% of nominal | Prevents tool resets, calibration drift, and plasma instability in etch/deposition tools |
| Frequency Stability | ±0.1 Hz from nominal (50/60 Hz) | Ensures stable motor speeds, RF power sources, and synchronization of precision equipment |
| Harmonic Distortion (THD) | < 3–5% | Reduces heating and interference in sensitive power electronics and control systems |
| Transient Protection | Instant suppression of surges, sags, and spikes | Prevents catastrophic wafer scrap or damage to EUV steppers and plasma tools |
| Power Factor | > 0.95 | Minimizes reactive losses, stabilizes voltage, and reduces stress on distribution networks |
| Redundancy | Dual substations, UPS, and BESS buffering | Provides fault tolerance against grid-level outages and disturbances |
Case Examples
- TSMC Taiwan: Requires dedicated power plants and direct transmission lines to meet base load.
- Samsung Taylor (Texas): Expected to rely on dual substations and microgrid integration for continuous reliability.
- Intel D1X (Oregon): Uses redundant substations, large-scale UPS systems, and renewable PPAs to stabilize supply.
Strategic Implications
- First Constraint: Reliable, clean power is the fundamental bottleneck in fab siting and construction.
- Grid Dependency: Fabs are vulnerable to grid instability (e.g., blackouts, weather events), driving demand for microgrids.
- Cost Driver: Electricity accounts for a growing portion of fab OPEX, especially at advanced nodes.
- Competition: AI datacenters and fabs are increasingly competing for the same gigawatt-scale grid resources.