Community update · November 9, 2026
SpaceX proposes a 149 MW gas turbine plant in Bastrop County
The Starlink factory filing shows four gas turbines and a property line beyond the parcels on our ownership map. Plus, Lost Pines Watch is now a 501(c)(3) public charity.
SpaceX proposes a permanent power plant at its Starlink factory at 858 FM 1209. Its air permit application lists four natural gas turbines rated at 37.16 MW each, for roughly 149 MW combined. The annual emissions model assumes all four turbines run around the clock, 8,760 hours per year. Read the air application (PDF).
How much electricity is that? At full output year-round, the turbines would generate about 1.3 billion kilowatt-hours, roughly a year’s electricity use for 100,000 Texas homes at the state’s 2024 average. SpaceX proposes to use the power at its Starlink factory. U.S. Energy Information Administration data (PDF).
TCEQ listed the application as pending when we checked on November 6, 2026. Follow TCEQ project 415044, registration 185366.
What the permit map shows
Trinity Consultants also prepared the air permit application for Pacifico’s proposed gas plant in Cedar Creek. Pacifico’s air permit application (PDF).
On our interactive map, the approximate turbine area falls inside Gapped Bass LLC parcel R38279. The applicant’s drawn property line extends beyond the ownership parcels we’ve mapped, including parts of R22468, R22908 and R25540. We show the applicant’s line as its own layer so you can compare it with parcels from the deed and appraisal records.
We also added five parcel outlines from SpaceX’s deed recorded June 8, 2026. The map now shows all six tracts listed in that deed, which together cover about 117.7 acres by the deed survey. Find instrument 202609629 in the county deed records.
Like FM 535 and Wolf Lane, FM 1209 and FM 969 are becoming an industrial corridor
The turbine proposal adds to an industrial buildout already underway. In 2025, Texas announced a $17.3 million grant toward SpaceX’s planned million-square-foot Bastrop expansion. Our ownership map now shows 23 verified SpaceX and Gapped Bass parcels totaling about 1,320 acres. The Boring Company has also reported assembling tunnel-boring equipment at its nearby Bastrop headquarters. State grant announcement · Ownership map · The Boring Company’s Bastrop update.
Sand and gravel hauling has grown, too. Friends of the Land reported in 2025 that three new sand and gravel operations, including Rambo Materials, had begun mining in and around Wilbarger Bend. The group also raised concerns at county meetings about dust from haul trucks on Wilbarger Bend Road. Public comments to CAMPO and TxDOT describe more gravel truck traffic on FM 969 and rocks coming off trucks and hitting windshields. Wilbarger Bend mining report · County meeting concerns · FM 969 public comments (PDF).
Aluminum melting and die casting at Starlink. TCEQ’s summary for air permit application 182733 lists existing equipment at the factory. Two gas-fired furnaces melt aluminum ingots, six electric holding furnaces keep the metal molten, and six die-casting machines form parts. TCEQ permit summary (PDF).
A gas turbine blade and vane foundry planned in Bastrop. SpaceX’s job postings describe a line for casting, machining and coating turbine parts. The foundry parcel and opening date remain unconfirmed. SpaceX foundry job posting.
Homes and schools are close. The Colony connects to FM 1209 and SH 71. In a straight line from the center of the mapped turbine area, it’s about 2.8 miles to Bluebonnet Elementary at 416 FM 1209 and 2.6 miles to Colony Oaks Elementary at 601 Sam Houston Drive. The Colony planning record (PDF) · Bastrop ISD school locations.
The effects can add up across Cedar Creek and Bastrop. The turbine application estimates 98.49 tons of nitrogen oxides a year, including startup and shutdown. That’s one project alongside existing industrial operations and proposals such as Pacifico’s gas plant along FM 535. A combined review would look at air emissions across both corridors, truck traffic on school routes, water and wastewater demand in the Colorado River watershed, and capacity for fire and EMS response. SpaceX emissions estimate (PDF) · Pacifico project records.
Lost Pines Watch is now a 501(c)(3) public charity
Thank you to the neighbors who read filings, showed up at meetings, volunteered and gave what they could. You’ve helped make the public record easier to find and given more neighbors a way to take part.
Gifts made to Lost Pines Watch on or after October 19, 2026, are tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law. That’s the effective date in the IRS determination letter dated October 30, 2026. If you gave while our application was pending, check the date on your receipt and keep it for your records.