By Joanna Allhands | Arizona Republic
Why is Arizona building water-intensive semiconductor plants when it is facing water shortages?
There have been multiple articles to that effect in the national and international press, which have spurred questions locally about whether this is the smartest way to use such a precious resource.
Most of the consternation comes from the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) plant that is under construction in north Phoenix, near Interstate 17 and Loop 303.
The plant is going up not just on a swath of raw desert, but in an area that has little development nearby. People look at the giant cranes and towering walls and ask, “Where are they getting the water for that?”
