Tesla plans to build a megafactory near Houston, where it will manufacture and distribute utility-scale battery energy storage systems and other products, according to a tax abatement agreement with Waller County in Texas, reported HartsEnergy.com.
As part of the tax agreement, which was approved by Waller County commissioners on March 5, the company will receive abatements from the county based on property upgrades that include $44 million in facility improvements and $150 million in Tesla manufacturing equipment. Tesla, owned by businessman and head of the U.S. Department of Government Efficiency Elon Musk, already leases a building in the Empire West Industrial Park in Brookshire, but the space is occupied by a third-party logistics company — not Tesla, a county official said during the commissioners’ court meeting.
The facility will be similar to one of Tesla’s factories in Lathrop, California, according to Tesla. The Lathrop Megafactory has a capacity of 40 gigawatt hours with an annual target of 10,000 megapacks, the company’s utility-scale batteries.
In addition to the battery energy storage systems, the facility will be used for warehousing, distribution and storage of automobile-related items as well as for research and development, according to the tax agreement. If Tesla complies with the terms of the agreement, the company could receive a 60% tax abatement for 10 years starting in 2026.
