Another Intel grant agreement still in the works

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- The onshoring agreement inked Friday between the Ohio Department of Development and Santa Clara-based chipmaker Intel, which is constructing semiconductor fabrication plants in New Albany, covers the details of one $600 million grant being doled out by the state.

But it does not legally outline other incentives pledged more than a year ago on Ohio's part, including money for a water reclamation facility valued at $300 million, according to a department spokesperson.

Zach Schiller, a researcher at left-leaning firm Policy Matters Ohio, said in an interview with NBC4 the onshoring agreement released late last week left him with some questions -- including about the absence of other incentives, such as the water reclamation facility, and the timeline for finishing work.

Intel and the state still need to finalize those water reclamation terms, which will come in the form of their own agreement, the department spokesperson said. It will include the same claw backs that appear in the onshoring agreement, she said, enabling the state to seek restitution if Intel goes back on its word.

A spokesperson for Intel said earlier that Ohio One, the name of the site in New Albany, will not come online until at least 2025.

Under the onshoring agreement, the state gives Intel until Dec. 31, 2028, to finish its construction on the two fabs before it would face grant-related penalties. But before that deadline, if Intel has to delay its construction schedule, it has to give the state at least one year of notice.

Schiller questioned that, too.

“Why is there that lengthy delay in when this becomes effective?” he said.

Since Intel is building two fabs, each half of the onshoring grant will go to one fab. In the state's eyes, 2025 is the deadline for the first fab, and 2028 is when the second needs to be finished, according to the department spokesperson.

The onshoring agreement, released Friday, was more than a year in the making.

Intel will also eventually benefit from job creation tax credits -- the state and the tech giant OK'd the terms of that deal back in October of last year.

NBC4 reported earlier last week the onshoring agreement had yet to be finished. At the time, the department spokesperson said its team was working to do so and that the state had not dealt with a project of similar size before.