Here’s why Elon Musk's TeraFab needs gas turbines alongside solar:

Chipmaking requires stable, uninterrupted power every second of the day. A voltage fluctuation lasting just eight milliseconds can trigger faults across an entire production bay, while one interruption can scrap a batch of advanced silicon wafers worth millions of dollars.

Semiconductor equipment typically requires voltage stability within ±1–2% and total harmonic distortion below 3–5%. That leaves almost no room for instability.

Solar is essential for long-term energy production, but its output varies with sunlight and relies on inverters that create additional power-quality challenges. For a gigawatt-scale chip factory operating around the clock, that risk matters.

SpaceX’s solution combines:

• Gas turbines for continuous and sustained power • Batteries for instant response, voltage stability and continuity • On-site generation to bypass grid connections that can take several years

TeraFab is not expected to draw electricity from the grid, reducing pressure on the local power system. The site also previously housed a coal-fired power plant, meaning important heavy-power infrastructure is already available.

SpaceX's acquisition of APR Energy adds access to mobile generation that can be deployed within 30–60 days instead of waiting years. That speed matters because SpaceX aims to begin the nearly $17 billion first phase of TeraFab before the end of 2027.

This is not about choosing gas instead of solar. Elon says SpaceX and Tesla are building 100 GW per year of solar production capacity as fast as possible. Natural gas will supplement and bootstrap solar for the next several years.

SpaceX is also bringing the casting of turbine blades and vanes in-house, the biggest bottleneck limiting turbine production. Elon says this could bring new turbines online up to 18 months faster.

That is a practical energy strategy built around the extreme demands of advanced chip manufacturing.