December 9 is on the calendar for both SpaceX sites. In Texas, commissioners will discuss a tax break. In Arizona, commissioners will decide whether the project can use the proposed land.
SpaceX said on November 12 that it plans to invest more than $74 billion in supercomputing campuses in Starbase, Texas, and Cochise County, Arizona, Reuters reported. The Texas proposal pairs a computing facility with a gas-fired power plant. The Arizona application describes up to nine computing buildings, battery energy storage, and associated power and cooling infrastructure. Both projects still face local proceedings, and the announced investment figures describe planned spending.
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Starbase, Texas: a tax abatement and development agreement
The City of Starbase’s December 9 notice covers a proposed tax abatement and an economic development agreement. The notice estimated an investment of about $24 billion for the site’s first phases, The Texas Tribune reported. Reuters separately reported that SpaceX’s November 12 estimate for Starbase was more than $24 billion.
After the hearing, the agreement itself is the document to look for. It can show what the city approved, which property qualifies, and any conditions attached to the incentive. The computing facility and the gas plant also raise questions about construction and air authorization. To track those, look for the applicable building and air records for this facility and compare the project name, location, and scope. A city incentive decision addresses the terms of public support. The power plant’s authorized design and schedule come from other project records.
Cochise County, Arizona: a special-use hearing at 2 p.m.
Tombstone Resources LLC is the applicant for Cochise County docket SU26-22. The county describes up to nine computing buildings in four phases on rural-zoned land. The applicant’s November 4 town-hall notice identified SpaceX as the host. The Planning and Zoning Commission can approve the use, attach conditions, or deny it. Its decision is final unless appealed to the Board of Supervisors under the county’s zoning rules.
The county moved the December 9 start time to 2 p.m. local time in the Board of Supervisors Meeting Room in Bisbee. Written comments must arrive by noon on November 27 for inclusion in the meeting packet. The county says later comments still enter the public record. People who want to speak can use the request form on the project page. The county asks them to select docket SU26-22 and submit the request at least 24 hours before the hearing. Check the county page for schedule changes.
| Site | Decision before officials | Record to check next |
|---|---|---|
| Starbase, Texas | Tax abatement and development agreement | Commission action and any approved agreement |
| Cochise County, Arizona | Special-use authorization for rural-zoned land | Commission decision and any conditions or appeal |
What 6 gigawatts tells us about the Arizona site
The county says the applicant estimates 6 gigawatts of electrical demand if all four phases are built. Gigawatts measure power at a point in time. If the site drew 6 gigawatts continuously for one hour, it would use 6 gigawatt-hours of electricity. At that same draw for a full year, it would use about 52.6 terawatt-hours. That calculation assumes continuous full draw for 8,760 hours. Actual use would depend on the equipment installed and how it operates.
The first phase could have a smaller load. The public full-build figure does not tell you how much electricity the first building will draw, when the power will be available, or what share will run computing hardware versus cooling and other equipment. A battery also has two separate figures to look for: how much power it can deliver at once, and how much energy it can store. Both are needed to estimate how long it could support a given load.
The records that would show when capacity is coming online
In Texas, the first milestone is the commission’s action on the proposed agreement. In Arizona, look for the special-use decision and any conditions on cooling, noise, or infrastructure. For an operating date, watch phase-specific utility commitments, construction milestones, and commissioning dates. Those show how much of the proposal is moving toward service and how much still depends on later construction.
Abdessalam Alaoui
I'm Abdessalam Alaoui, founder of Musthave.AI. I write practical guides to AI models, tools, generative media.
