SpaceX expansion November 6, 2026 · Starbase · City notice

SpaceX proposes a $24 billion gas-fired power plant and "super-compute facility" in Starbase, a city notice says

The City of Starbase posted a public hearing notice on Friday, Nov. 6, 2026 saying SpaceX "proposes to construct, own, and operate a gas-fired power plant and super-compute facility" on about 444 acres inside the city. The notice puts the "estimated capital investment for initial phases of the project" at "approximately $24 billion." The city commission will consider a property tax abatement for the project on Dec. 9, 2026. Read the notice (PDF).

• The hearing: the City Commission meets at 7 p.m. CT Wednesday, Dec. 9, 2026 at 48491 State Highway 4 to "consider approval of a property tax abatement agreement" and "a related economic development agreement." The notice invites interested people to attend and be heard. Nothing has been approved yet.
• The money: the $24 billion covers the "initial phases." The notice says the project "may be constructed over multiple phases and include future expansions."
• The site: "an approximately 444-acre tract just east of the City of Brownsville, between Boca Chica Blvd and the Port of Brownsville," inside Starbase city limits. The size and location match the 444.46 acres Starbase annexed on a SpaceX petition on Sept. 21, 2026.
• The tax zone: the notice places the project in the Cameron County Enterprise Zone, which it says counts as a reinvestment zone under the Texas Tax Code.
• What it doesn't say: how much tax would be abated, for how long, how many jobs the project would bring, how much power the plant would make, or how much water the site would use.

Background: Brownsville released the 444 acres in August 2026 alongside SpaceX's water deal of up to $220 million (our Sept. 12, 2026 story). State records list a SpaceX "Boca Chica Facility" there under "Electric Power Generation" (Oct. 18, 2026). A Starbase permit log shows a SpaceX application at "40193 TX 4 Data Center," described as "444 Acres" (Oct. 30, 2026). The 956 Report said this week that a pending state filing lists 35 gas turbines at first, about 748 megawatts (Nov. 3, 2026). None of those records gave a cost. This notice does.

For scale: supporters at Brownsville's Aug. 29, 2026 meeting pointed to an estimated $3.2 billion SpaceX had invested in the region since 2014.

We haven't seen a SpaceX statement on the notice.

Next: we'll post the proposed agreements if the city publishes them.

Sources: City of Starbase, Public Hearing Notice, Tax Abatement and Economic Development Agreements, Dec. 9, 2026 (PDF) · City of Starbase notices page · Starbase annexation and permit records as linked in our earlier stories

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