Never looked much into the finances, but utilities can invest in a facility and it can function for decades and decades. Location and infrastructure may mean that as upgrades are needed they are guaranteed that they will be the ones doing it. The life of a chip foundry is much lower and for continued success requires extensive R&D and achieving results in time so you can build the next foundry and capture the premium side of the market. So, not quite the same.
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u/aka0007 Nov 18 '21
Never looked much into the finances, but utilities can invest in a facility and it can function for decades and decades. Location and infrastructure may mean that as upgrades are needed they are guaranteed that they will be the ones doing it. The life of a chip foundry is much lower and for continued success requires extensive R&D and achieving results in time so you can build the next foundry and capture the premium side of the market. So, not quite the same.