When the Solano County site backed by Silicon Valley-funded California Forever made the shortlist for a $3 billion shipyard last year, Gov. Gavin Newsom's office was ecstatic, according to a Wall Street Journal report published Saturday. "We have not had the chance to land a WHALE of a project like this since Tesla more than a decade ago," a Newsom staffer wrote in an email the Journal quoted.
The Journal reports that within an hour, California Forever founder Jan Sramek warned of an obstacle: county government red tape. The paper describes a bitter standoff between the tech-backed developers and local county leaders that helped doom the project.
What was lost
The shipbuilder, Austin-based autonomous vessel maker Saronic Technologies, announced on July 16 that its Port Alpha shipyard would go to Brownsville, Texas. Saronic said it chose the site after a yearlong nationwide search based on workforce, infrastructure, land, logistics and room to grow. The yard starts on 835 acres at the Port of Brownsville, could expand to nearly 4,400 acres, and is expected to create up to 10,000 direct jobs over the next decade, the company said.
The Press Democrat reported at the time that Cameron County, Texas, had approved a 95% tax abatement for the project.
Who got blamed
The loss set off finger-pointing in Solano County. State Sen. Christopher Cabaldon said in a statement reported by The Press Democrat and ABC7 that Solano had real advantages, but that California Forever "held the shipyard proposal hostage by tying it to their unpopular housing development proposal." Supporters of California Forever, meanwhile, criticized Cabaldon, saying he was skeptical of the project and didn't engage with Saronic, ABC7 reported. Opposition group Solano Together also blamed the developer while restating its own environmental objections to a shipyard.
Why it matters
California Forever wants to build a new city of up to 400,000 people in eastern Solano County. The shipyard was meant to be a centerpiece that would bring thousands of skilled jobs to the edge of the Bay Area. The Journal's account adds to a long-running debate over whether California can compete with states like Texas for big industrial projects.