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33 Projects, One Channel and What Industry Is Lining Up at the Port of Brownsville, and the $607 Million Lithium Refinery Few People Are Talking About
An Australian company wants to refine imported lithium ore on 35 acres at the Port of Brownsville. It is one of 33 tracked projects and components lining up along the ship channel, and records produced by the Port do not show a combined assessment of what all of them will need together.
4 hours ago12 min read
12 Bridges, 6 Airports, 4 Ports: A Valley Broker Makes the Case for South Texas
Commercial broker Mark Hanna says the Rio Grande Valley's real advantage is what happens after freight crosses the border. The 956 Report summarizes his case and checks the numbers.
9 hours ago3 min read
Did You Know the RGV Already Has a Mayors' Alliance? Here Is Who Sits on It, and Who Does Not
The same few Rio Grande Valley mayors keep showing up at the head of the region's coordinating bodies. That raises two questions: why are most Valley mayors not at those tables, and why is there so little on the record when big industry arrives?
11 hours ago5 min read
TWO CATCHES, ONE TOWER: WHY STARSHIP FLIGHT 15 MATTERS TO THE RGV
SpaceX says it will try to catch both halves of Starship at the Starbase tower on its next flight. A success would be a first in spaceflight, and it arrives as the FAA weighs letting Starbase launch up to 456 times a year.
2 days ago6 min read
Brownsville's closed-door "Project Fortress" item sits on the new city agenda.
Brownsville's 90-day data center moratorium is on Wednesday's consent agenda for its final vote. The same agenda lists a closed session on "Project Fortress," with no other details.
2 days ago7 min read
The Valley Adopted a Data Center Deal Template. It Assumes Gas Generators Running 24/7.
The Lower Rio Grande Valley Development Council approved a regional template for negotiating with AI data center developers. Read closely, the document leaves every number blank, sets no water cap or penalties, and assumes data centers will run on onsite gas generators in a region whose air already ranks among the worst in the country.
2 days ago6 min read
Port Chairman Tours Karpower Shipyard as $3 Billion Plan and 713-Acre Lease Talks Move Forward
The Port of Brownsville's board chairman toured the former AmFELS shipyard now owned by Karpower Valley. Behind the visit is a $3 billion plan, a 1-gigawatt power plant, an AI data center pitch and a 713-acre lease whose terms have not been made public.
3 days ago4 min read
THE WATER WILL BE PRIVATE: AN ISRAELI DESALINATION GIANT'S TWO BETS ON SOUTH TEXAS
An Israeli-headquartered private company is positioned to build Texas' first major seawater desalination plants, including one for the Rio Grande Valley. Water prices and contract terms are still not public.
3 days ago5 min read
BROWNSVILLE — Rio Grande LNG wants the Valley to know it is not finished.
NextDecade says Rio Grande LNG Phase 1 is only the beginning. With a Gulf war squeezing global gas supply, here is what the Brownsville expansion means for the Valley and the world.
3 days ago7 min read
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