Starbase notice says SpaceX proposes a $24 billion plant and compute site

A City of Starbase notice says SpaceX proposes a gas-fired power plant and a super-compute facility, and puts the initial phases at about $24 billion. The City Commission will consider a property tax abatement and a related economic development agreement. The notice does not say either agreement has been approved.

The hearing is set for Wednesday, December 9. The commission will meet at 7:00 p.m. Central time, 9:00 p.m. AST, at 48491 State Highway 4 in Starbase. It will consider a property tax abatement agreement under Chapter 312 of the Texas Tax Code and a related economic development agreement under Chapter 380 of the Texas Local Government Code. The notice invites interested people to attend and be heard.

SpaceX is named as the owner and the applicant. The notice identifies Space Exploration Technologies Corp., a Texas corporation, as the property owner and the applicant for the tax abatement. It says the project would be built in the Cameron County Enterprise Zone, which it says counts as a reinvestment zone under the Texas Tax Code.

The site is about 444 acres. The notice places it inside Starbase, in Cameron County, on an approximately 444-acre tract just east of Brownsville, between Boca Chica Boulevard and the Port of Brownsville. It lists Cameron County Property ID 171887.

The notice describes the project in one sentence. It says SpaceX proposes to construct, own and operate a gas-fired power plant and super-compute facility. It puts the estimated capital investment for the initial phases at approximately $24 billion. It says that work may be built over multiple phases and may include later expansions.

Several terms are not in the notice. It does not state an abatement percentage, a term, a jobs figure, a power output or a water figure. It says the notice is given under Texas Tax Code section 312.207(d) and Chapter 551 of the Texas Government Code.