Noisiv:

LOL https://download.schneider-electric.com/files?p_enDocType=Brochure&p_File_Name=INDED104010EN.pdf&p_Doc_Ref=INDED104010EN Speak for yourself 😀

do you know how much it would cost to have this deployed for a fab that on average consumes 60gigawatts? o.o

Astyanax:

do you know how much it would cost to have this deployed for a fab that on average consumes 60gigawatts? o.o

No idea. But it's got little to do with unsuitable quality of diesel generator electricity. Power correcting and filtering systems are necessary requirement for any kind of large factory. Let alone semi.

...Micron does not track which memory chips come off the assembly line in which production facilities. For example, GDDR6X-DRAM, which Micron has so far exclusively produced for Nvidia’s GeForce RTX 3090 and GeForce RTX 3080, could also be affected – there would be no alternative options... 😱 https://www.de24.news/en/2020/12/power-outage-at-micron-global-dram-market-affected.html

I'm not sure how much power it takes to run one of these facilities, but I imagine it should be possible to use a diesel backup generator. I once saw the mainframe of a major regional insurance company and it was astonishing to me to see the backup power solutions they had. Not only did they have this massive underground tank of diesel, but there was also this room packed full of thousands of lead acid batteries as a secondary backup. This mainframe was large enough that it would take about 1 full minute to walk from one side to the other at a brisk pace, and these servers were major power hogs. Seeing as this wasn't the company's HQ or largest facility, if they took this much precaution to generate backup power for a single building, I find it a little suspicious how Micron wouldn't have backup power to at least keep some of the more sensitive equipment going. As pointed out earlier in this thread, those wafers are valuable. Micron really ought to protect them wherever possible.

Having worked on some large scale construction jobs that required electricity 24/7 they all were built with at least a two phase backup system.

Its not only the constant, uninterruptible power thats needed, but the quality of that power (harmonics) must be very precise and consistent where even a fraction of a Hz frequency can throw things off in delicate jobs of this nature.

AsiJu:

That's a rare talent these days, hats off to you sir.

I have bruises and blisters on my tongue. But thank you fellow guru!

They have magic switch to print money, its handy for Christmas bonuses.. and they have insurance for sure.

schmidtbag:

I'm not sure how much power it takes to run one of these facilities, but I imagine it should be possible to use a diesel backup generator. I once saw the mainframe of a major regional insurance company and it was astonishing to me to see the backup power solutions they had. Not only did they have this massive underground tank of diesel, but there was also this room packed full of thousands of lead acid batteries as a secondary backup. This mainframe was large enough that it would take about 1 full minute to walk from one side to the other at a brisk pace, and these servers were major power hogs. Seeing as this wasn't the company's HQ or largest facility, if they took this much precaution to generate backup power for a single building, I find it a little suspicious how Micron wouldn't have backup power to at least keep some of the more sensitive equipment going. As pointed out earlier in this thread, those wafers are valuable. Micron really ought to protect them wherever possible.

A large modern fab plant uses over 150MWh of power per day. That's 1/6 the output of a typical coal power plant.

Denial:

A large modern fab plant uses over 150MWh of power per day. That's 1/6 the output of a typical coal power plant.

Hah... well... in that case, I guess it's a bit understandable why backup power for the whole facility can't be done. Still, I think they should have some backup power for the most critical machines.

I think I'm going to lean on the fact that when this occurs to high precision tech factories prices are usually effected. Conspiracies arise from a veil of ignorance (not stupidity... usually). I know little of the power consumption and how massive fabrication plants are effected by these outages. However, the information is out there to get an idea. Typically the truth is far less exciting than conspiracies so prepare for disappointment. After these plants go down just because the power comes back on doesn't mean the machines just start operating at 100% again.

schmidtbag:

Hah... well... in that case, I guess it's a bit understandable why backup power for the whole facility can't be done. Still, I think they should have some backup power for the most critical machines.

Pretty sure they do. But regardless of the backup power on hand, I would think a critical step is to ensure that it switches over with zero change or fluctuation in flow and quality of power, as even a fraction of a second can cause massive issues or ruin wafers being processed. I guess thats partly why Fabs cost billions to design and construct.

wavetrex:

I don't get it... don't such critical facilities have some kind of generator backup in place for when power is disrupted? Heck, if I were in the business of making billions of dollars of silicon products I would build my own gas/coal power plant right next to the factory ! This is ridiculous... somebody trips a switch and suddenly massive losses.

A generator wouldn't work in that situation. They would pretty much need their own powerplant to provide the amount of power something like that kind of factory uses. The backup generators will pretty much just keep the lights on.