Fort Bend County Approves Incentives for Tesla's $10.1B Solar Plant

Fort Bend County commissioners voted 4-0 on Oct. 22, 2026 to approve incentive agreements for Tesla’s proposed $10.1B solar cell and module plant. The project, called Project Crystal Sun, would sit on tracts along FM 762 and FM 1994 inside Lamar Consolidated Independent School District.

Why it matters

The vote does not lock in the site. Tesla has told the Texas Comptroller’s office it is still weighing locations in other states, and the state side of the package still needs sign off from the Comptroller and the Governor’s office. Interim County Judge Daniel Wong abstained, citing his engineering firm’s past work with Tesla. For builders, brokers and contractors in southern Fort Bend County, a plant of this size would reset land, housing and labor demand around the Richmond area if Tesla picks the site.

The numbers

Tesla’s JETI application, filed with the Texas Comptroller under case number J0050, lists a capital investment of $10,116,100,000. The same filing projects 9,712 permanent full-time jobs and a construction peak of about 1,147 workers. The tract list includes parcels on FM 762 and at 6702 FM 1994 Road in Richmond.

The four items approved Oct. 22 covered a property tax abatement inside Reinvestment Zone No. 34 and a Chapter 381 economic development grant agreement, under which the county would repay a portion of Tesla’s taxes. They also covered a foreign trade zone non-objection paired with payments in lieu of certain taxes, plus a separate “true up” payment in lieu of taxes agreement. Commissioners created Reinvestment Zone No. 34 on Aug. 24, 2026. Lamar CISD’s board approved the district’s portion of the JETI application on Sept. 15, which would limit its maintenance and operations tax rate for 10 years.

What’s next

The JETI package now sits with Gov. Greg Abbott’s office, and the Texas Comptroller has not signed off either. Tesla has not committed to Fort Bend County, so the county votes are a bid, not a final deal. For other large industrial projects across the region, see the Houston market hub and our coverage of the Hertha Metals plant groundbreaking in Conroe.