Infineon Technologies's semiconductor facility in Austin will make the transition to 100% renewable power, per a report from Austin ABC affiliate KVUE.
Steve James, the company's vice president of operations, said that Infineon will tap into certified renewable power from Austin Energy that originates from some wind farms in Texas, KVUE reported.
James affirmed Infineon's commitment to employing green energy.
"It means a little extra cost for us, but we really think that's important just to show how important it is to the planet to start to transfer to green," the executive said, per KVUE.
The station reported that Infineon is among the first semiconductor companies to pledge carbon neutrality for its operations worldwide more than two years ago just before the COVID-19 pandemic took root.
James explained to KVUE that the transition at Infineon's largest North American fab to green energy is part of the company's plans to achieve carbon-neutrality by the start of the next decade.
“By the end of this year, the entire power consumption of our U.S. production will originate from renewable energy," he said, per the station. "Infineon is strongly committed to climate protection by reducing its own footprint, and driving energy efficient technologies."
According to KVUE, the Austin Journal reported, U.S. Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) and U.S. Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Austin) participated in a roundtable last month with University of Texas leaders and Austin-area businesses to discuss boosting domestic semiconductor manufacturing.
"It's 30% more expensive to build a semiconductor fab here in the United States than Asia, that's why so many companies go there," Cornyn said at the roundtable.
The senator and McCaul, whose congressional district includes a sliver of Austin, were instrumental in the introduction and passage of measures to incentivize the creation of semiconductor facilities here instead of on the other side of the Pacific Ocean, per the publication.