Key facts
- The notice describes $24 billion as the estimated capital investment for the project's initial phases.
- SpaceX would construct, own and operate the facilities, the notice said.
- The notice did not state the abatement's size or duration, the plant's generating capacity or the computing operation's scale.
- SpaceX bought Elon Musk's AI lab xAI earlier this year, the report said.
- SpaceX has been renting computing capacity to Google, Anthropic and others, the report said.
- Building its own power plant could let SpaceX skip a years-long wait to connect to Texas' main power grid.
SpaceX is planning a gas-fired power plant and super-compute facility in Starbase, Texas, with an estimated capital investment of roughly $24 billion for the project's initial phases, according to a public hearing notice. The notice says the work may be done in multiple phases and could include future expansions, and that SpaceX would construct, own and operate the facilities. Reuters reported the plan on November 9; Bloomberg News first reported on the development.
The filing shows SpaceX, which bought Elon Musk's AI lab xAI earlier this year, has applied for a property tax abatement for the project. The Starbase City Commission will consider the abatement, plus a related economic development agreement, at a public meeting on December 9. The notice did not say how large the abatement would be or how long it would last, and gave no details on the plant's generating capacity or the scale of the computing operation.
Building its own power plant could let SpaceX skip a years-long wait to plug a project into Texas' main power grid, according to the report. The project would be among the largest private investments in the Rio Grande Valley, the notice said.
SpaceX affiliate Lone Star Mineral Development has filed plans for an 8-mile natural gas pipeline to Starbase, called Starpipe, scheduled for service by January 2027, according to filings Reuters reviewed in June. That pipeline will feed a planned plant to turn the gas into liquid methane for Starship rockets.
The request comes as opposition to data centers grows, with voters rejecting them in 40 of 41 local ballot measures and Democrats, some of whom had campaigned on pausing new projects, taking control of the US Congress and the Texas governor's office in the midterm elections, Reuters reported. SpaceX last month reported a 161% jump in revenue and a ninefold increase in AI revenue for its third quarter, and has been renting out computing capacity to Google, Anthropic and others.