SpaceX Plans $24 Billion Computing Project and Gas Plant in Texas
Key Facts
SpaceX plans to build a data center and gas-fired power plant near Brownsville, Texas, with a stated investment of $24 billion for the initial phases, according to a report published by The Texas Tribune on November 10, 2026. The newspaper said the figure could include future expansions, making it an estimate for the proposed Texas project rather than the company’s total spending on computing facilities. In Arizona, an application for a separate high-performance computing and artificial intelligence project remains under review by Cochise County, with no decision on approval or regulatory compliance. The two projects are therefore moving through different local processes, while energy stands out as a key element in the design of computing facilities. The available open-source evidence does not provide verified details establishing a total investment figure for the two projects.
The proposed Texas project is on 444.45 acres of land that was removed from Brownsville’s jurisdiction at SpaceX’s request, according to The Texas Tribune. In exchange for the removal, the company offered to fund $220 million in water and wastewater projects in the city. The newspaper said Brownsville received the money and that it would be allocated to water infrastructure. The planned gas plant, according to the report, would supply power to the data center and avoid connecting to the state’s main electricity grid. That could help the project bypass a wait of several years for a grid connection, Reuters reported. The city notice did not specify the plant’s generating capacity or the planned scale of computing operations.
In Arizona, the application submitted to Cochise County proposes up to 9 computing buildings across 4 phases, with estimated electricity demand of 6 gigawatts upon completion. These descriptions and operating estimates are based on information from the applicant; the county has not independently verified or endorsed them. The application is numbered SU26-22, and the county says it remains under review. The Planning and Zoning Commission is scheduled to consider it at a public hearing on December 9, 2026, at 2 p.m. The commission may approve the application, approve it with conditions or reject it, according to the county’s page. The estimated electricity demand makes energy needs central to the project’s assessment, while the figure remains an estimate supplied by the applicant.
The two projects are advancing amid local and regulatory opposition to data centers. In Texas, the South Texas Environmental Justice Network announced a protest against the project, while other residents saw it as a potential source of jobs, according to The Texas Tribune. Brownsville approved a temporary 90-day moratorium on data center applications within the city and its extraterritorial jurisdiction, but SpaceX’s proposed site is outside the city after the land was removed from its jurisdiction. Texas governor-elect Gina Hinojosa also said she would issue a ban on new data center approvals until state lawmakers enact laws to protect residents. More broadly, Reuters reported that voters rejected data centers in 40 of the 41 local ballot measures it examined. These developments add local and regulatory considerations to the separate approval processes in the two states.
The Starbase City Commission is scheduled to consider a tax abatement application and an economic development agreement tied to the Texas project at a public meeting in December, Reuters reported. The meeting notice did not specify the size or duration of the abatement, and it provided no details on the power plant’s capacity or the scale of the computing operation. The meeting would allow the commission to consider the two applications as part of the local process, but its scheduling does not indicate that a decision will be made. In Cochise County, the hearing is scheduled for December 9, after the deadline for written comments to be included in the hearing file at noon on November 27. These dates are the next announced steps for each project, while the Arizona project remains under county review. SPCX shares closed at $139.75 in the November 11, 2026 session.