SpaceX Starbase Data Center: $24B Gas Plant Tax Break Sought

SpaceX has asked the City of Starbase, Texas, for a property tax abatement on a gas-fired power plant and "super-compute facility" with an estimated initial capital investment of about $24 billion, according to the city's public hearing notice.

The city commission will take up the abatement under Chapter 312 of the Texas Tax Code, plus a related economic development agreement under Chapter 380 of the Local Government Code, at a 7:00 p.m. meeting on Dec. 9, 2026. The notice names Space Exploration Technologies Corp. as owner and applicant. It does not state the size or length of the abatement, and it gives no megawatt, GPU or jobs figures.

What the Starbase Hearing Notice Says

The site is an approximately 444-acre tract in Cameron County, east of Brownsville and between Boca Chica Boulevard and the Port of Brownsville. The notice places it in the Cameron County Enterprise Zone, which counts as a reinvestment zone for the abatement. The $24 billion covers initial phases, which "may be constructed over multiple phases and include future expansions." It is the applicant's estimate for the initial phases, and the notice says later expansions are possible.

The Texas Tribune reported on Nov. 10 that SpaceX asked Brownsville earlier this year to de-annex the land, that the city agreed, and that SpaceX offered $220 million for city water and wastewater projects in exchange. Starbase later annexed the tract. Brownsville's 90-day moratorium on data-center applications, which covers the city and its extraterritorial jurisdiction, took effect before the Tribune's Nov. 10 report, and the Tribune said the project would probably have needed another site had the land stayed inside Brownsville. The city said it stood by the de-annexation and called the sale a private transaction. SpaceX did not answer the Tribune's questions.

Power: Off the Grid, With No Capacity Stated

The Tribune said the gas plant could supply the data center and avoid the state grid. Neither the notice nor the Tribune gives a plant rating. RGV Business Journal reported on Nov. 8 that Trinity Consultants filed a Texas Commission on Environmental Quality air application for SpaceX describing 35 natural gas turbines capable of 748 MW. Voltgrid has not seen that filing, so the figure remains reported, not confirmed. For scale, SpaceX has been linked to a Cochise County, Arizona campus with a stated power need of up to 6 GW, as Voltgrid reported on Nov. 9. That is a campus's demand, while 748 MW would be one plant's generating capability, and Starbase's compute load has not been stated.

Governor Greg Abbott directed grid operators in August to pause data-center grid-connection requests until the data centers could be audited, and told the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality to stop issuing data-center permits, the Tribune said; critics say some permits still advanced. Governor-elect Gina Hinojosa said she would ban data-center approvals until lawmakers pass laws "to protect Texans." The South Texas Environmental Justice Network announced a protest over air pollution, water use and energy bills, while a Brownsville teacher told the Tribune the project would bring jobs.

How a Texas Property Tax Abatement Works

A Chapter 312 abatement is a local deal, not a state grant: a city or county agrees not to tax all or part of the added value of new improvements on a site in a designated reinvestment zone. The Texas Comptroller says one agreement may run no more than 10 years, and school districts may not enter into one.

Starbase's notice names the Cameron County Enterprise Zone, which Texas law treats as a reinvestment zone, and pairs the abatement with a related Chapter 380 economic development agreement. It gives no percentage or term, so the notice does not say how much of SpaceX's roughly $24 billion estimate for initial phases would be exempt.

What Is Not Confirmed Yet

The abatement terms, the plant's rating, the turbine count, the GPU or compute capacity, the water source and the job count have not been disclosed. A reported TCEQ air filing for the plant has not been reviewed by Voltgrid, and no source gives a construction or operating date. SpaceX has not commented, and the commission's Dec. 9 vote could change the terms or the schedule.