Back in June of 2022, Ohio’s Department of Development entered into a contract to provide Intel $300 million in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding to build a water reclamation facility for its Ohio One Campus. That contract requires Intel to “expend the Grant Funds to construct … a portion” of the project by the end of this year. It hasn’t even gone vertical yet.
The water reclamation facility is critical to the Ohio One project. Like other booming areas of the tech sector, the semiconductor industry uses exorbitant amounts of water. Chip production requires “ultrapure” water, with nearly all contaminants filtered out. By one estimate, it takes between 1,400 and 1,600 gallons of municipal water to make 1,000 gallons of ultrapure water. Considering that advanced semiconductor fabrication plants (known as “fabs”) can use roughly 10 million gallons of ultrapure water per day, they have a strong incentive to reclaim and recycle what water they can.*
In its most recent report on the project, Intel states that it has spent nearly $179 million on the water reclamation plant and receiving $123 million of ARPA-funded reimbursements from the Ohio Dept. of Development.
In that same report, Intel notes that “the project site is now successfully connected to potable city water and the city sanitary system,” that “construction continues on the mechanical systems, process systems, and supporting infrastructure,” and that they continue to “install supporting infrastructure that collects and conveys wastewater to the treatment building.”
That is arguably enough to fulfill Intel’s contractual obligation to build a “portion” of the project, especially since the contract contains no clear definition of “portion.” Additionally, if they don’t spend all $300 million by the end of 2026, the remainder doesn’t go back to Ohio — it returns to the federal treasury.
Intel could still ask to receive the remaining ARPA funds in advance, but the deadline to request a project timeline extension has passed. When asked if such a request had been made — whether for the water treatment facility or the fabs themselves — a representative of the Ohio Dept. of Development told us that, “Intel has not formally requested an extension from the State of Ohio. However, we remain confident that Intel will deliver on the commitments it has made, and we have every indication that the plants will become operational … Intel is still expected to meet its investment, job, and payroll commitments by 2028, and that has not changed.”
What has changed is Intel’s own timeline for the Ohio One project. Despite the Dept. of Development’s optimism, Intel announced during their Q2 2025 earnings report that only one of the fabs will be online in 2030 or 2031, five to six years beyond their original promise of both being online at the end of 2025. Additionally, the project is still at risk of being scrapped altogether if Intel cannot find a buyer for their chips.
If the corporation decides to walk away before the water reclamation facility is complete, Ohioans will be left with the construction mess and without hundreds of millions of dollars that could have been better spent in communities around the state.
For the Ohio One project as a whole, Intel has committed to a fixed asset investment of at least $20 billion, 3,000 full time employees, and $405 million in annual payroll. Their contract may give the Ohio Dept. of Development the option to claw back disbursed funds if these metrics not met.
These ARPA dollars designated to Intel are meant to benefit the community, plain and simple. There was a slew of important needs that these dollars could’ve gone to, but now those monies are at risk of being either returned to the federal treasury or given to a corporation that has already walked back its promises. The Ohio Dept. of Development ought to hold Intel’s feet to the fire to ensure completion, and ultimately that all funds are disbursed, by the end of the year. Regardless, the clock is ticking for Intel.
*The Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) provides an example of (relatively) efficient water use. Earlier this year, TSMC — the largest semiconductor manufacturer in the world— broke ground on a water reclamation plant to support the company’s first two fabsin Arizona. The facility, which can be modified to support any subsequent fabs built on the site, aims to achieve a water recycling rate of 90% or better, called “Near Zero Liquid Discharge.”
Intel took our money, but hasn’t delivered on childcare promises