SpaceX Eyes $24B Gas Power and Compute Project at Starbase, Texas
A Reuters report via BOE Report says SpaceX is planning a roughly $24 billion gas-fired power plant and super-compute facility in Starbase, Texas, according to a public hearing notice.
Market Impact
The notice puts $24 billion as the estimated capital investment for the project’s initial phases. It says the work may be built in multiple phases and could include future expansions. SpaceX would construct, own and operate the facilities. The report says the project would be among the largest private investments in the Rio Grande Valley.
The project is not sanctioned. The Starbase City Commission will consider SpaceX’s property tax abatement request and a related economic development agreement at a public meeting on December 9. The notice does not say how large the abatement would be or how long it would last. It also gives no generating capacity for the plant and no scale for the computing operation, so the power-plant share of the $24 billion is unknown. Treat the headline figure as unconfirmed.
Reuters notes that building its own plant could let SpaceX skip a years-long wait to connect to the main Texas grid. Reuters says the notice comes as opposition to data centers grows. Voters rejected them in 40 of 41 local ballot measures, and Democrats, some of whom campaigned on pausing new projects, took control of Congress and the Texas governor’s office in the midterms.
Separately, 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. Per filings Reuters reviewed in June, that line feeds a planned plant that turns gas into liquid methane for Starship rockets. The source does not say Starpipe would supply the new power plant.
What It Means for Subcontractors
- December 9 is the first checkpoint. Watch the Starbase City Commission agenda for the abatement and economic development agreement vote. Approval would be the first public sign SpaceX is committing to the project. The source names no permit docket, so no air or interconnection filing can be tracked from it yet.
- No procurement stage is public. The source names no GC, EPC contractor or subcontract packages. SpaceX would build, own and operate, so civil, electrical and mechanical subs should expect any package to come from SpaceX or its affiliates rather than a utility. That is an inference, not a source fact.
- Pipeline and HDD crews should separate two projects. Starpipe is an 8-mile line due in service by January 2027 and is tied to the liquid methane plant. Any gas supply for the power plant would need its own filings, and none are described.
- Do not size crews or equipment yet. With no MW figure and no phase schedule, packages cannot be estimated. Wait for the capacity disclosure before committing resources.
- Plan for political and schedule risk. Local opposition to data centers is rising, and the abatement is still a vote away. Hold off on any Rio Grande Valley mobilization until the December 9 outcome is known.
