As Joseph Biden’s presidency draws to a close, the Financial Times took a look at how much of America’s ambitious new plant construction projects are even being built, and how many are experiencing delays. According to the source, in monetary terms, almost 40% of projects are either paused or behind the original implementation schedule.
Image source: Financial times
We are talking about cumulative subsidies and government investments that were provided for by the so-called Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and the Chips and Science Act. In total, at first it was planned to implement projects in the United States with government support worth $400 billion, which would cover a variety of areas from the construction of green energy facilities to car assembly plants and chip factories. Having weeded out projects worth less than $100 million, representatives of the Financial Times received statistics that were not entirely attractive for the Biden administration.
Projects totaling $84 billion were behind schedule for periods ranging from two months to several years, or were put on pause indefinitely. The Financial Times sample included 114 large projects worth a total of $228 billion. Thus, about 37% of large projects are either behind schedule or in an uncertain status. In the energy sector, Enel’s $1 billion solar panel plant in Oklahoma was delayed, South Korea’s LG Energy Solution delayed its $2.3 billion battery plant in Arizona, and Albemarle failed to move forward. construction of a lithium refinery facility in South Carolina. At the same time, many projects are actually delayed, although this is not publicly announced. Many manufacturers simply froze in anticipation of the outcome of the US presidential elections this fall.
The story of the delay in the construction of two TSMC plants in Arizona by a couple of years from the original deadline was widely described on thematic sites. TSMC contractors are also delayed in building their plants in the state. Chang Chun Group is two years behind schedule with the construction of a $300 million plant, and KPCT Advanced Chemicals has not yet decided on the construction timeline for its $200 million plant. China remains the largest manufacturer of semiconductor products, excluding advanced chips, and also controls more than three quarters of the global market for solar panels and batteries.