SpaceX is proposing to build, own, and operate a natural gas power station alongside a data center site in Starbase, Texas, with the initial phases carrying an estimated USD 24 billion in capital investment, according to a public hearing notice from the City of Starbase.

The Starbase City Commission will consider a property tax abatement agreement and a related economic development agreement for the project at its meeting at 7 p.m. CT on December 9, according to the notice, which said interested persons are invited to attend and be heard.

Where the Project Would Sit

The site is an approximately 444-acre tract within Starbase's city limits, located east of Brownsville between Boca Chica Boulevard and the Port of Brownsville.

The notice said the project would sit in the Cameron County Enterprise Zone, which counts as a reinvestment zone under Texas tax law. The investment may be built over multiple phases and could include future expansions.

Starbase was incorporated in 2025 and houses several hundred SpaceX workers along with their relatives.

A Broader Push to Control the Gas Supply Chain

The proposal adds to signs that SpaceX CEO Elon Musk wants to control the company's natural gas supply chain. SpaceX put forward a plan in September for a company-owned gas line in Florida that would feed Starship rockets at Cape Canaveral, and it has also brought on gas traders at both Starbase and Cape Canaveral.

Separately, SpaceX plans a natural gas power station to serve the chip-making plant it is building with Tesla in Grimes County, outside Houston.

Political Headwinds in Austin

The plan emerges as Texas politics shift around data center development. Cloud computing company Core Weave has written to Texas Gov.-elect Gina Hinojosa to propose collaborating on data center projects that are underway or still being planned.

Hinojosa is the first Democrat to win the Texas governorship since 1990, and her campaign promise was a statewide moratorium on data centers. Republicans hold the majority in the Texas Legislature, which limits how much she can change state policy.

Hinojosa's election could create headwinds for Musk's plans. Climbing electricity costs and worries about environmental harm have sparked demonstrations nationwide against data centers, including one aimed at a Memphis complex tied to Musk's companies.

The Starbase City Commission's Dec. 9 meeting will determine whether the project moves forward with the tax abatement and economic development agreements under consideration.

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