Tesla plans to build a solar cell and module factory in Texas under the codename Project Crystal Sun. The Lamar Consolidated Independent School District (Lamar CISD) board, which oversees the Houston area, has approved the related property tax incentive agreement with a 7-0 vote under Texas's JETI (Jobs, Energy, Technology and Innovation) framework for valuation limitation arrangements.
Public application documents indicate the proposed site is located in Fort Bend County, near Richmond, and spans approximately 3,050 acres. The total capital commitment is about 10.1 billion USD (approximately 1.5 billion USD for real estate and 8.6 billion USD for production equipment and movable property). Reports state the agreement provides a limitation on the appraised value for school district maintenance and operations tax purposes for a period of ten years, from 2029 to 2038.
Regarding the timeline, the application documents list the construction period as approximately 2026 to 2028, with a commercial production target set for Q1 2029. Upon full operation, the facility is expected to create approximately 9,712 full-time jobs. The equipment list includes ingot pulling, wafer cutting, chemical vapor deposition, metallization, and automated logistics, indicating a vertically integrated production line rather than just downstream module assembly.
In the documents, Tesla states it is still evaluating competing out-of-state locations, and local tax incentives are one of the key factors in the final site selection. The school district's approval of the agreement does not mean the Fort Bend site has been finalized. For more details, see local and energy media reports (including Axios Houston and pv magazine USA).