TAIPEI -- Taiwan, home to Asia's biggest semiconductor industry, is once again bracing for water shortages less than two years after overcoming its worst drought in a century.
Chipmaking is a thirsty business. Take Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., the world's biggest contract chipmaker, for example. Its chip facilities in the Southern Taiwan Science Park alone consume 99,000 tonnes of water per day, according to the company's latest figures. And as chip production techniques become more advanced, their water needs grow.
