SpaceX Proposes Energy and Computing Project in Starbase With Investment Estimated at About $24 Billion
Key Facts
SpaceX is seeking economic incentives from the city of Starbase for a project combining a gas-fired power plant and a supercomputing facility, with an initial investment estimated at about $24 billion, according to RGV Business Journal. The move comes through a request for a tax exemption and an economic development agreement, rather than an announcement of final approval for the project. The city has posted a notice on its official website for a public hearing on the tax exemption and economic development agreements related to the project. The hearing is scheduled to consider the request on December 9, 2026. The notice places the proposed project in a local process for considering incentives, while the published text does not set a construction start date.
Local coverage said the project would be built near the Port of Brownsville and developed in phases. According to details in an environmental permit application filed on behalf of SpaceX with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, the proposed power plant includes 35 natural gas turbines. The stated total capacity of those turbines is 748 megawatts. The proposed plant would provide an energy component alongside the supercomputing facility, but the report did not specify the computing facility's capacity. The turbine count and capacity remain tied to the details of the environmental permit application.
The project comes as SpaceX's nominal computing capacity expanded to 1.7 gigawatts on September 30, 2026, according to its quarterly filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Capacity was 1.4 gigawatts at the end of June and 0.6 gigawatts in September 2025. The company's revenue also reached $14.575 billion in the third quarter of 2026, compared with $5.576 billion in the same period a year earlier. Revenue from AI and computing solutions and infrastructure rose to $7.022 billion, compared with $359 million in the third quarter of 2025. These figures show computing activity expanding alongside the proposed project, without the filing specifying Starbase's contribution to revenue or current capacity.
Regulatory steps for the site date back to before the current incentives announcement; The Information reported that SpaceX filed an air permit application for power in September 2026, but it stalled as permitting proceedings were suspended. The report cited an analyst's estimate that a 444-acre plot could accommodate on-site gas generation of between 1.5 and 2.6 gigawatts. This is a separate estimate for the site, not the capacity specified in the environmental permit application, which cited 748 megawatts for the proposed turbines. The report also said permitting delays could limit future revenue if computing capacity is not available in time. It added that the company could have to pay for chips it had agreed to lease even if the data center was not ready to receive them.
Energy stands out as part of the company's broader computing expansion. On November 4, an EL7 report covered SpaceX's target of nearly 13 gigawatts of computing capacity during 2027. The company also announced on October 26 a financing commitment of about $40 billion in the form of a master lease for graphics processing units and related equipment. Lease schedules are expected to begin when the equipment is delivered in the first half of 2027. The proposed Starbase project puts energy and computing within a local investment package, while the city notice does not explain how the project would connect to the equipment delivery schedule or the announced capacity targets.
The proposed incentives include a property tax exemption that would allow the company to benefit from the Cameron County Economic Development Zone, according to RGV Business Journal. The report noted that some Starbase commissioners also work for SpaceX. The public hearing is scheduled to take place at City Hall on December 9 at 7 p.m. The next step is consideration of the agreements and incentives, and the city's notice does not say the hearing constitutes final approval of the project. The company disclosed on June 30, 2026, that it held 18,712 bitcoins, with a cost basis of $661 million and a fair value of $1.098 billion on that date.