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TSMC MEGA Factory North Phoenix progress # 6

Six phases at once!
Comparable (in footprint) to all Intel fabs in AZ built up over 25 years: Fab 12, 22, 32, 42, 52 and 62.

It’s like Intel is a fab-lite manufacturer now that TSMC is here. And Intel is not fab-lite.
 
From the Google Earth images, we can see the scale of the overall TSMC Arizona campus. You may need to have Google Earth app installed to view the satellite image rendering.

 
Six phases at once!
Comparable (in footprint) to all Intel fabs in AZ built up over 25 years: Fab 12, 22, 32, 42, 52 and 62.

It’s like Intel is a fab-lite manufacturer now that TSMC is here. And Intel is not fab-lite.
Can you explain how did you tell it's Six phases?
 
"outdoor temperatures in Phoenix can reach as high as 115 degrees"

LOL, the record temperature in Phoenix is 122 degrees Fahrenheit (50 degrees Celsius). We usually get high yearly temps in the 116-118 range one or two days each year, normally in June. The new TSMC facility is in north Phoenix at a marginally higher elevation (roughly 1500 ft above mean sea level, as compared to 1100 ft in downtown Phoenix) and far enough out that it may escape the urban heat island effect a little --- so maybe 115 is about right for that site.
 
"outdoor temperatures in Phoenix can reach as high as 115 degrees"

LOL, the record temperature in Phoenix is 122 degrees Fahrenheit (50 degrees Celsius). We usually get high yearly temps in the 116-118 range one or two days each year, normally in June. The new TSMC facility is in north Phoenix at a marginally higher elevation (roughly 1500 ft above mean sea level, as compared to 1100 ft in downtown Phoenix) and far enough out that it may escape the urban heat island effect a little --- so maybe 115 is about right for that site.

I'm wondering how much money TSMC is going to spend on cooling at the Arizona fab in the future.
 
I'm wondering how much money TSMC is going to spend on cooling at the Arizona fab in the future.
A large multi-story building shouldn't be too bad, especially if they can justify the investment to put photovoltaics on the roof (unless there's tax credits, they probably can't) or if they've done a good job with insulation & reflective windows & keeping the room/side colors light.

Much better surface-to-volume ratio than a small residence.

Before I got a PV system on my house, I spend about the same amount each year on cooling as I did in the northeast USA on heating.
 
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According to the fab site plan, Fab01 and Fab02 are under construction.
 
This is another video published two weeks ago. The parking lot is huge and full of cars. I remember there was a news saying 4000 people are working at the site everyday.

Source:
 
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I wonder if TSM will use that super white heat reflective coating?

Are you referring the whitest white paint developed by the Prude University?

"The paint’s whiteness also means that the paint is the coolest on record. Using high-accuracy temperature reading equipment called thermocouples, the researchers demonstrated outdoors that the paint can keep surfaces 19 degrees Fahrenheit cooler than their ambient surroundings at night. It can also cool surfaces 8 degrees Fahrenheit below their surroundings under strong sunlight during noon hours."

Source: https://www.purdue.edu/newsroom/rel...-is-here-and-its-the-coolest.-literally..html

TSMC and Prude University have a joint semiconductor research program. Hope TSMC can give this new white paint a try at its new fab in Phoenix Arizona.
 
This is the stuff for heat mitigation

 
This is the stuff for heat mitigation


This is an interesting passive cooling development.

"Our product will lower cooling costs and fuel consumption, generating 25-80% of the necessary cooling while saving $2,600 each year for a 40-foot refrigerated truck."

Do they have some test results for regular buildings?
 
I'd expect that TSMC has done the math and concluded the supply of people in the Phoenix area is worth the relatively minor extra cost of cooling. I am not going to do the math, but if the cooling cost was 2% of the depreciation cost, I'd be really surprised. I'd worry more about the power grid, and again, I think TSMC has already done that math.
 
I wonder if TSM will use that super white heat reflective coating?
Silver is best, not white. Bare aluminum panels. Topped with solar panels one would hope. There are also some desert facilities that have been experimenting with chilling water at night for circulation as cooling during the day.
 
Update #7 is out:

This is wild how fast it's being built. Must be a very templated and well-understood factory structure by this point.
It's certainly faster than many major infrastructure or construction projects I've seen. The fab 2 is under construction too.
 
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