Intel wins permit for Oregon expansion despite underreporting carbon emissions
Intel secured a milestone state air quality permit Tuesday for a major expansion planned at its chip factories in Hillsboro, but it also received a reprimand from regulators for having significantly understating its Oregon carbon emissions during 2022.The permit makes way for the upgrade to Intel’s manufacturing campus near Hillsboro Stadium, work the company says represents a “multibillion-dollar” investment. But the reporting gaffe, Intel’s third major air quality issue in Oregon in recent years, will raise fresh questions about the reliability of its pollution controls.Intel applied for a new Oregon air quality permit last year, seeking major increases in its emissions caps for greenhouse gases and other key pollutants. The company plans to build a fourth phase of its D1X research factory at Gordon Moore Park in Hillsboro, a site previously known as Ronler Acres.The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality awarded Intel that permit on Tuesday. But at the same time, the agency announced that Intel had not accurately reported its emissions of greenhouse gases during 2022.The company, regulators say, understated its Oregon carbon dioxide emissions by about 155,000 metric tons during 2022.Regulators said the enforcement process for air quality violations is separate from its permitting process, so Intel’s greenhouse gas blunder did not affect its permit application.The state issued Intel a warning letter and Intel said it is “cooperating fully” with the Department of Environmental Quality.“We take these matters seriously,” Intel spokesperson Elly Akopyan wrote in a statement Tuesday. “Intel notified DEQ of inaccuracies it had discovered in its 2022 Greenhouse Gas emissions data report. Intel is taking steps to address this event and to prevent future similar events.”Oregon penalized Intel $31,000 last year because the company had inadvertently disconnected pollution control equipment for 63 days, resulting in uncontrolled emissions of hydrogen fluoride, hydrogen chloride and possibly other chemicals.Those are toxic chemicals that could cause injury to people in close proximity, but state regulators say there is no evidence that those emissions actually harmed anyone.In 2012, Intel touched off a firestorm after it reported having emitted fluoride from its Oregon factories for years without disclosing the emissions or obtaining an air quality permit. The company paid a $143,000 penalty and reached agreement with neighbors and environmental watchdogs to implement air quality monitoring.Intel reported Oregon emissions equivalent to 561,000 metric tons in 2021. The company told state regulators last month that it had underreported emissions by about 155,000 metric tons. It wasn’t immediately clear what Intel’s actual 2022 emissions total was.Intel, like other technology companies, acknowledges that climate change is a major threat to the planet, and the company has committed to “net-zero greenhouse gas emissions” across its operations by 2040.That’s an especially tricky proposition for semiconductor manufacturers. Advanced chipmaking technology depends on chemicals with an impact on climate change similar to high levels of carbon dioxide emissions.Intel attributed its 2022 reporting failure to “an inaccurate inventory of gas tanks,” according to regulators. Intel hired a third-party organization to verify its initial report, but the unnamed outside organization somehow failed to catch Intel’s mistake.Oregon regulators told Intel it must use a different third-party verification service in the future.Intel is Oregon’s largest corporate employer, with 23,000 people working at its Washington County campuses. It’s also the state’s second-largest emitter of greenhouse gases, excluding electric utilities, trailing only Ash Grove Cement Co. in Baker County.Intel’s new air-quality permit would allow it to triple its annual greenhouse gas emissions, to 1.7 million metric tons.The Oregon Legislature and Gov. Tina Kotek have awarded Intel $115 million in state funding to pay for its Hillsboro expansion, which the company says will create 2,000 new jobs. Last month, the Biden administration awarded Intel $8.5 billion and billions of dollars’ worth of other incentives to subsidize new factories in Arizona and Ohio and expansions in New Mexico and Oregon.On Tuesday, Intel said it is still in the planning stages for the fourth phase of D1X in Hillsboro. The company’s regulatory filings indicate construction could start as soon as next year.-- Mike Rogoway covers Oregon technology and the state economy. Reach him at mrogoway@oregonian.com.Our journalism needs your support. Please become a subscriber today at OregonLive.com/subscribe
The reporting gaffe on greenhouse gases is Intel’s third major air quality issue in Oregon in recent years.
Intel secured a milestone state air quality permit Tuesday for a major expansion planned at its chip factories in Hillsboro, but it also received a reprimand from regulators for having significantly understating its Oregon carbon emissions during 2022.
The permit makes way for the upgrade to Intel’s manufacturing campus near Hillsboro Stadium, work the company says represents a “multibillion-dollar” investment. But the reporting gaffe, Intel’s third major air quality issue in Oregon in recent years, will raise fresh questions about the reliability of its pollution controls.
Intel applied for a new Oregon air quality permit last year, seeking major increases in its emissions caps for greenhouse gases and other key pollutants. The company plans to build a fourth phase of its D1X research factory at Gordon Moore Park in Hillsboro, a site previously known as Ronler Acres.
The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality awarded Intel that permit on Tuesday. But at the same time, the agency announced that Intel had not accurately reported its emissions of greenhouse gases during 2022.
The company, regulators say, understated its Oregon carbon dioxide emissions by about 155,000 metric tons during 2022.
Regulators said the enforcement process for air quality violations is separate from its permitting process, so Intel’s greenhouse gas blunder did not affect its permit application.
The state issued Intel a warning letter and Intel said it is “cooperating fully” with the Department of Environmental Quality.
“We take these matters seriously,” Intel spokesperson Elly Akopyan wrote in a statement Tuesday. “Intel notified DEQ of inaccuracies it had discovered in its 2022 Greenhouse Gas emissions data report. Intel is taking steps to address this event and to prevent future similar events.”
Oregon penalized Intel $31,000 last year because the company had inadvertently disconnected pollution control equipment for 63 days, resulting in uncontrolled emissions of hydrogen fluoride, hydrogen chloride and possibly other chemicals.
Those are toxic chemicals that could cause injury to people in close proximity, but state regulators say there is no evidence that those emissions actually harmed anyone.
In 2012, Intel touched off a firestorm after it reported having emitted fluoride from its Oregon factories for years without disclosing the emissions or obtaining an air quality permit. The company paid a $143,000 penalty and reached agreement with neighbors and environmental watchdogs to implement air quality monitoring.
Intel reported Oregon emissions equivalent to 561,000 metric tons in 2021. The company told state regulators last month that it had underreported emissions by about 155,000 metric tons. It wasn’t immediately clear what Intel’s actual 2022 emissions total was.
Intel, like other technology companies, acknowledges that climate change is a major threat to the planet, and the company has committed to “net-zero greenhouse gas emissions” across its operations by 2040.
That’s an especially tricky proposition for semiconductor manufacturers. Advanced chipmaking technology depends on chemicals with an impact on climate change similar to high levels of carbon dioxide emissions.
Intel attributed its 2022 reporting failure to “an inaccurate inventory of gas tanks,” according to regulators. Intel hired a third-party organization to verify its initial report, but the unnamed outside organization somehow failed to catch Intel’s mistake.
Oregon regulators told Intel it must use a different third-party verification service in the future.
Intel is Oregon’s largest corporate employer, with 23,000 people working at its Washington County campuses. It’s also the state’s second-largest emitter of greenhouse gases, excluding electric utilities, trailing only Ash Grove Cement Co. in Baker County.
Intel’s new air-quality permit would allow it to triple its annual greenhouse gas emissions, to 1.7 million metric tons.
The Oregon Legislature and Gov. Tina Kotek have awarded Intel $115 million in state funding to pay for its Hillsboro expansion, which the company says will create 2,000 new jobs. Last month, the Biden administration awarded Intel $8.5 billion and billions of dollars’ worth of other incentives to subsidize new factories in Arizona and Ohio and expansions in New Mexico and Oregon.
On Tuesday, Intel said it is still in the planning stages for the fourth phase of D1X in Hillsboro. The company’s regulatory filings indicate construction could start as soon as next year.
-- Mike Rogoway covers Oregon technology and the state economy. Reach him at mrogoway@oregonian.com.
Our journalism needs your support. Please become a subscriber today at OregonLive.com/subscribe