Tesla wants to build a $10.1 billion solar cell manufacturing facility in Fort Bend County, within Lamar CISD's boundaries near Fulshear.
The company filed a Jobs, Energy, Technology and Innovation (JETI) application with the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts on Aug. 6, seeking a 10-year school district property tax limitation to help land the project. Lamar CISD announced the application Wednesday, Aug. 26, and opened a three-day community survey through Friday, Aug. 28, at LCISD.org/TeslaJETI26.
The proposed facility, internally called Project Crystal Sun, would manufacture photovoltaic solar cells and assembled solar modules for utility, commercial and residential use, according to Tesla's application filed with the Comptroller. Tesla projects 9,712 permanent full-time jobs paying an average of $134,148 per year, plus about 1,147 peak construction jobs.
The site sits along FM 762 and FM 1994, south of the Brazos River, in Fort Bend County Commissioner Grady Prestage's Precinct 2. The application lists parcels totaling approximately 2,679 acres, though the project may occupy only portions of those tracts.
Nothing is final. The district's survey page notes Tesla is still evaluating the Fort Bend County site as part of a competitive selection process against at least one unnamed location. In its application, Tesla stated that without tax incentives, "the projected economics of the Texas site are expected to be less favorable than the competing site."
What JETI means for Lamar CISD
Under the JETI program, which replaced the expired Chapter 313 incentive, a company receives a 100 percent school district maintenance and operations (M&O) tax limitation during construction, up to two years. That drops to a 50 percent limitation once the project is operational, for a total incentive period of 10 years. Both the Lamar CISD Board of Trustees and the Governor's office must approve the agreement. A public hearing with at least 15 days' notice is required during the district's 30-day review window, according to the Texas Comptroller.
Tesla's economic benefit projections claim the project would generate approximately $1.1 billion in property tax revenue across all local taxing jurisdictions and roughly $4 billion in total direct state and local tax revenue over 38 years.
County complications
Fort Bend County Judge Daniel Wong said he will recuse himself from any Commissioners Court vote involving Tesla. "My engineering firm has worked with Tesla for at least 5 years on buildings the company has constructed," Wong told Covering Katy on Aug. 17. "I will not participate in any county vote involving Tesla."
A boycott of court meetings by Commissioners Prestage and Dexter McCoy, reported by Covering Katy on Aug. 17, could leave only two of the three votes needed to approve any county incentive package. The boycott's current status is unclear.
What's next
Lamar CISD Superintendent Roosevelt Nivens is listed as the authorized school district representative on the application. The Board of Trustees said community questions submitted through the survey will help the district identify topics needing additional information as the application moves through review.
If approved, Tesla plans to begin construction in 2026 and reach commercial operations by the first quarter of 2029. The community survey closes Friday, Aug. 28, at LCISD.org/TeslaJETI26.
