SpaceX plans to invest around $50 billion in a supercomputing campus in Arizona, using a dry-cooling system designed to reduce the facility’s reliance on water. The project is part of a wider expansion worth more than $74 billion across Arizona and Texas as the company scales up its computing infrastructure.
The proposed campus in Cochise County would use air-based cooling instead of conventional water-intensive systems. SpaceX also said it does not plan to use industrial groundwater for the facility, an important distinction for a project planned in an arid region where water availability is a major concern.
Dry cooling limits water use
The Arizona facility is expected to create around 5,500 construction jobs and 1,000 permanent positions, according to SpaceX. The company is also working with local electric cooperatives to supply electricity to the campus.
SpaceX said the development could reduce electricity bills for cooperative members by up to 20 percent. The project would require significant power infrastructure, with its plans outlining a campus of nine computing buildings and capacity of up to 6 gigawatts when fully developed.
However, the development is not yet approved. SpaceX needs permission from Cochise County, where the proposal has drawn opposition from some residents. A petition with around 2,400 signatures has asked county officials to reject the project, with a public hearing scheduled for December.
Texas brings water investment
The Arizona campus is one part of SpaceX’s planned expansion. The company has also announced an investment of more than $24 billion in a supercomputing facility at its Starbase site in Texas.
Unlike the Arizona project, the Texas facility is expected to generate its own electricity rather than draw power from the public grid. A separate public filing describes a proposed 750-megawatt natural gas-fired power plant alongside the computing campus. The gas plant remains a proposal and should not be confused with SpaceX’s announcement of the supercomputing facility.
The Texas development has also brought a major water infrastructure commitment for nearby Brownsville. SpaceX has pledged up to $220 million for water and wastewater projects in the city and Cameron County, with $40 million provided initially under the agreement.
The company said the investment would support projects capable of adding 20 million gallons of water capacity per day. However, Brownsville’s approved plans identify two projects expected to add approximately 18 million gallons daily: an 8-million-gallon-per-day potable water reuse system and a 10-million-gallon-per-day expansion of the Southmost Regional Water Authority facility.
The agreement does not give SpaceX ownership of the water infrastructure or reserved capacity in the system. The projects are intended to strengthen the region’s water supply as Brownsville and surrounding communities continue to grow.
Together, the two campuses represent a major expansion of SpaceX’s computing ambitions, with the Arizona project highlighting an approach to reducing industrial water demand and the Texas development combining dedicated power generation with a substantial regional water investment.