Energizing economic development

New $1 billion project will power up 400 jobs in the Austin suburbs

The San Marcos-anchored Texas Innovation Corridor is getting a new $1 billion project.

Courtesy of Visit San Marcos

Tesla isn’t the only driver of high-profile economic development activity in the Austin metro area.

Southern California-based Chem-Energy Corp., whose specialties include petroleum products, unveiled plans November 10 to invest more than $1 billion to build a solar power storage plant and a battery power storage plant in Caldwell County.

The solar power plant will be on a 3,518-acre site at Caldwell Valley Ranch, outside Uhland. Uhland, which sits in Caldwell and Hays counties, is a small town 12 miles northeast of San Marcos. Construction on the solar plant is set to start in the spring of 2022 and be completed the following year.

Once the Uhland facility is finished, work will start on the battery power plant near Martindale, a small Caldwell County town seven miles southeast of San Marcos. The acreage of that site wasn’t available.

Uhland and Martindale are situated in a San Marcos-anchored region known as the Texas Innovation Corridor.

“Caldwell County is the perfect strategic choice for our flagship operations in Texas,” Robert Hayward, chief operating officer of Chem-Energy, says in a news release. “With available land in a growing region, close proximity to Texas State University, and a robust workforce pipeline, the Texas Innovation Corridor provides an ideal environment for our organization’s growth.”

The news release indicates that other Chem-Energy facilities are planned “soon” for Central Texas.

The solar and battery power plants will primarily serve the Taylor-based Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), which runs most of the state’s power grid. Other customers of the plants will include the Austin-based Lower Colorado River Authority (LCRA) and the Bastrop-based Bluebonnet Electric Cooperative.

The facilities will produce 400 full-time permanent jobs in the first year, with average annual pay of at least $53,200. Hiring is expected to start in January.

In partnership with the Hays County campus of Austin Community College in Kyle, the Martindale facility will be home to the country’s first comprehensive solar and battery storage training center. The center will train Chem-Energy technicians.

“Between the high-paying jobs, the incoming workforce training facilities, and our region becoming a future resource to the statewide power grid, this will unquestionably raise the quality of life for residents throughout the Texas Innovation Corridor,” says Jason Giulietti, president of the Greater San Marcos Partnership, which promotes economic development in the San Marcos area.

Caldwell County has signed off on a $22.4 million tax incentive package for the two facilities.

“This is a seismic development for our region which will establish several new opportunities in our community,” Caldwell County Judge Hoppy Haden says.

Population growth has been less robust in Caldwell County than in the Austin metro area’s four other counties. Still, Caldwell County notched a population increase of 20.5 percent from 2010 to 2020, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

In tandem with the population bump, Caldwell County has seen a rise in home prices. In September, the county’s median home price climbed 19.6 percent to $259,000 compared with the same month a year earlier, according to the Austin Board of Realtors. Caldwell County is the only metro county where the median home price remains below $300,000.

Of course, the Chem-Energy projects could trigger a spike in Caldwell County home prices.

The projects near Uhland and Martindale are the latest in a wave of economic activity happening east of I-35 in the Austin area. Most notably, Tesla is nearing completion in Travis County of a $1.1 billion auto manufacturing plant east of Austin-Bergstrom International Airport. Meanwhile, Samsung is eyeing the Williamson County city of Taylor for a $17 billion chipmaking factory.

technology

SKIN IN THE GAME

Renowned Hill Country tattoo artist inks new sacred geometry app

Photo courtesy of Dillon Forte

Dillion Forte at his "tattoo ranch" in the Texas Hill Country.

In the world of tattooing, there may seem to be few better rat traps left to build, but Dillon Forte aims to change that. In October, the renowned Wimberley-based tattoo artist and entrepreneur introduced a new iPadOS app to bring ancient symbology into the digital age.

Forte has made a worldwide name for his black dot work (a contemporary take on stick-and-poke techniques) and ambitious undertakings like tattooing underwater and opening a “tattoo ranch.” His ink appears on Usher, Chris Hemsworth, and Kehlani.

Still, he is most recognized for his sacred geometry designs, using patterns to convey various meanings. His interest led him to create the Sacred Geometry Drawing App, a convenient way for novices and experts to develop and export their creations.

The app grew out of his own practice. Over the past decade, he has used tablets and freehand techniques to achieve his highly symmetrical artwork but grew to realize existing tools were not always easy to use.

“The app is an attempt and fulfillment of my desire to make sacred geometry accessible and bring the ability to create into the fingertips of as many people as possible,” Forte tells CultureMap via email, adding a tagline: “symmetry made simply.”

He says he wished the app was available when developing his signature style as a tattoo artist, but it was designed with a broad range of users in mind. He hopes that designers, educators, and artists will find a use for it.

A short intro to the app's capabilities is available on YouTube. It looks like a standard drawing app, starting with a blank canvas and some tools like pens, pencils, colors, and of course, straight line and dot makers.

A "symmetry index" anchors the functionality and expands it to something between 2D art and 3D modeling. In addition to generating shapes like repeating patterns and spirals, the app also creates 3D shapes with grids, so that the artist can map their design in real space or even create sculptures. There is also an index for explaining the spiritual meaning of some standard designs.

“Geometry often prompts an intimidating feeling when it comes to making art,” Forte continues. “The fundamentally complex and often academic nature of math-based art can induce a sense of fear in the potential user instead of creating a sense of awe. The purpose of the sacred geometry app is to cultivate the latter."

Creatives interested in constructing their own geometric masterpieces can download the app at the App Store for free, and in-app purchases are available.

technology apps tattoos arts