🔍 Read the full analysis: More AI Campuses, More Infrastructure: SpaceX’s Plans For Two States on ThorstenMeyerAI.com
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TL;DR
SpaceX announced plans for two AI computing campuses: a facility near Starbase, Texas, with more than $24 billion in planned investment, and a roughly $50 billion campus in Cochise County, Arizona. Local proceedings are scheduled for Dec. 9, 2026; several details, including Texas water use and the Arizona power arrangement, remain unsettled.
SpaceX said Nov. 12 it is advancing plans for two AI computing campuses, one in Starbase, Texas, and another in Cochise County, Arizona, with more than $74 billion in planned investment combined. Both projects now face local decisions: Starbase officials are set to consider a property-tax abatement, while Cochise County’s planning and zoning commission is scheduled to hold a project hearing on Dec. 9.
The Texas proposal calls for more than $24 billion in computing infrastructure on an approximately 444-acre site near the Port of Brownsville, according to SpaceX and a Starbase city notice. The notice describes a gas-fired power plant alongside the supercomputing facility. SpaceX says the site will generate its own electricity rather than draw from the public grid, but the city notice does not specify the plant’s capacity or the computing facility’s power demand.
Local outlet The 956 Report, citing an air-registration filing submitted to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, reported plans for an initial temporary setup of 35 natural-gas turbines totaling about 748 megawatts, later to be replaced by eight larger turbines totaling about 708 megawatts. Those figures come from the outlet’s account of the filing, not from the Starbase notice. SpaceX says the facility is intended to train AI systems and support work in areas including medical research, emergency response, manufacturing and national security. The company projects more than 500 permanent jobs and says it has committed $220 million toward regional water and wastewater infrastructure, including $40 million already provided.
In Arizona, a county application filed by Tombstone Resources L.L.C. seeks approval for a campus on about 747 acres along U.S. Highway 191 near Cochise. The application does not identify SpaceX; the connection comes from SpaceX’s project page and Tombstone Resources’ statement that SpaceX would host a community town hall. The proposed development could include up to nine computing buildings, built in four phases, and draw approximately six gigawatts at full build-out. The application describes grid-delivered power and a 24-gigawatt-hour battery system, with natural-gas generators for backup.
Two AI campuses, two states
SpaceX is advancing large computing campus proposals in Texas and Arizona. Both face local review, with power, water and financial details still open.
Two proposals, different power plans
The campuses would add substantial computing capacity and infrastructure demands.
- Gas-fired generation described in the city notice
- SpaceX says the site would generate its own electricity
- More than 500 permanent jobs projected
- Grid-delivered power through utilities and a cooperative
- Battery storage and natural-gas backup proposed
- Up to nine computing buildings in four phases
Local review is next
The scheduled proceedings offer a chance to examine the proposals; they do not amount to final approval.
What remains unsettled
Final operating plans and local decisions will shape the projects’ effects on communities.
Texas use is unspecified
SpaceX has not specified how much water the Texas computing facility would use.
Arizona terms need clarity
The proposed grid arrangement and promised cooperative bill reductions remain subject to review.
Tax terms are open
The size and terms of the proposed Starbase property-tax abatement are not given.
Two States Face New AI Power Demands
The proposals show SpaceX pursuing large, ground-based computing capacity as it expands its AI ambitions. The company has framed its investment as support for training advanced systems, while the projects would also bring substantial construction activity and new demands on local infrastructure. Their differing power plans sharpen the local stakes: the Texas site is described as having its own gas-fired generation, while the Arizona project would rely on electricity delivered through utilities and a cooperative.
For residents and local officials, the immediate questions involve more than investment totals. They include how the projects affect electricity systems, water resources, air emissions, jobs and public finances. SpaceX says the Arizona campus would use dry cooling and about 7 to 10 acre-feet of water a year at full build-out, mostly for staff. Its application compares that estimate with 400 to 600 acre-feet annually for a center-pivot field on a 160-acre quarter section. The comparison is in the application; actual project impacts will depend on approvals and final operating plans.
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From Orbital Computing to Ground Campuses
In February, when SpaceX announced that it had acquired xAI, the company argued that rising AI electricity demand could not be met by terrestrial solutions without imposing hardship on communities and the environment. It pointed to data centers in orbit as part of its answer. The two new proposals are on the ground, though SpaceX presents the Texas facility as also helping develop and test technology for future space-based computing.
The announcement comes as AI becomes a major part of SpaceX’s business. Reuters reported that the company’s AI segment generated more than half of its revenue in the third quarter. The two campus plans are at different stages of public review: Arizona’s application is filed under Tombstone Resources, while Starbase’s notice sets out a proposed property-tax abatement for the Texas project. Neither local proceeding is itself final approval of every element of construction or operation.
“Together, they represent more than $74 billion in planned American investment.”
— SpaceX
Power, Water and Tax Terms Remain Open
Important operating and financial details are not yet settled in the materials described. The Texas city notice does not state the proposed power plant’s capacity, and SpaceX has not specified how much water the computing facility itself would use. The size and terms of the proposed Starbase property-tax abatement are also not given in the source material.
In Arizona, the application describes a grid connection and says lower power bills for local cooperative members are part of the proposal, but it remains unclear whether the arrangement behind those promised bill reductions will receive approval from the relevant utility regulator. The county documents cited do not name SpaceX, and the eventual campus size, schedule and operating details depend on the review process. Planned investment figures are not completed spending, and the proposed projects should not be treated as approved or built.
Dec. 9 Brings Local Review Milestones
On Dec. 9, 2026, the Cochise County Planning and Zoning Commission is scheduled to hear the Arizona application, while the Starbase City Commission is set to consider a property-tax abatement related to the Texas project. Those proceedings will give local officials and residents an opportunity to examine the proposals, but the materials provided do not establish that either meeting will settle every required permit or utility decision.
Further developments to watch include the outcome of the county review, the terms of any Starbase tax action, and additional details about Texas power generation and water demand. In Arizona, the electricity arrangement and any regulatory decisions will help clarify whether the proposed campus can proceed as described. Construction timing and final project specifications remain unclear in the available information.
Key Questions
What has SpaceX proposed in Texas and Arizona?
SpaceX says it is advancing a computing facility near Starbase, Texas, with more than $24 billion in planned investment, and a roughly $50 billion campus in Cochise County, Arizona.
Are the campuses approved?
The source material describes projects facing local review, not completed approvals. Starbase is scheduled to consider a property-tax abatement, and Cochise County’s planning and zoning commission is scheduled to hear the Arizona application on Dec. 9, 2026.
How would the Arizona campus get power?
The application describes electricity delivered through the Sulphur Springs Valley Electric Cooperative and Arizona Electric Power Cooperative to a utility-owned substation. It also lists natural-gas generators for backup and testing. The proposed power arrangement and bill reductions remain subject to further review.
How much water would the projects use?
The Arizona application estimates about 7 to 10 acre-feet per year at full build-out, mostly for staff. SpaceX has not said how much water the Texas computing facility itself would use, though it says it is funding regional water and wastewater infrastructure.
When is the next public milestone?
Both projects have a local proceeding scheduled for Dec. 9, 2026: a Cochise County planning and zoning hearing and a Starbase City Commission consideration of a property-tax abatement.
Source: ThorstenMeyerAI.com
