UMC fab wins green credentials
UMC obtains LEED gold certification, which it says underscores efforts to enhance green sustainability
Taiwan-based semiconductor foundry, United Microelectronics, reveals its 300mm Fab 12A P3 & P4 in Tainan, Taiwan, has gained LEED-NC (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design "“ New Construction) Gold recognition from the US Green Building Council.
According to the business, this is another green building achievement for P3 & P4 following its EEWH Gold certification from Taiwan in 2011.
Dr. Shih-Wei Sun, CEO from UMC, said, "UMC was the first in the foundry industry to announce a corporate climate change policy back in 2010. Since then, we have initiated and implemented green measures not only to enhance energy-conservation for existing fabs, but also ensure that new fabs conform to the latest green building standards."
"Fab 12A P3 & P4's green building certification from both Taiwan and the US, demonstrates UMC's green commitment and is a significant milestone in our efforts to promote CSR and sustainability. We will further incorporate green initiatives for our upcoming P5 & P6 as well," he adds.
FAB 12A P3 & P4 is UMC's most advanced 300mm production fab. As the company highlights, green, low-carbon concepts have been introduced into all aspects of the facility, from fab design, construction, and process development to operation.
Several structural measures to increase energy efficiency include energy-saving vacuum pumps, an advanced solid cooling system that recycles vent gas, state-of-art energy management, monitoring and consolidation systems.
Reduction in energy consumption is estimated at 8.5% over Fab 12A P1 & P2, which is a further 29.3% below the standard set by US building technology society, ASHRAE.
For water conservation, UMC implemented a sophisticated water recycle design and technique that it believes will raise water recycling rate to 90%. For the Fab 12A complex, recycled water amount reached 6 million tons in 2011, equivalent to the water consumed by 65,000 people over a year.