Google’s Carbon Capture Bet: A Risky Power Play?
▼ Summary
– Google will invest in a 400-megawatt natural gas power plant in Illinois designed to capture about 90% of its carbon emissions.
– The plant will be built near an ADM ethanol facility and will supply electricity to Google’s data centers and steam and electricity to ADM.
– Captured CO2 will be stored in geological formations used by ADM, which had a temporary injection halt in 2024 due to a brine leak from a corroded well.
– Carbon capture and storage has a mixed performance record, with many facilities underperforming, such as a Canadian plant capturing only half its target.
– CCS reduces emissions from burning natural gas but does not address methane leaks in the supply chain, which can negate climate benefits if leakage rates are high.
In a significant move blending energy procurement with climate ambition, Google has announced a major investment in a new natural gas power plant in Illinois, designed to capture the vast majority of its carbon dioxide emissions. This 400-megawatt facility will be constructed near Decatur, adjacent to an Archer-Daniels-Midland (ADM) ethanol plant that already operates its own carbon capture system. Google plans to purchase most of the electricity generated to run its local data centers, while ADM will utilize a portion of the plant’s steam and electrical output. The development is being managed by Low Carbon Infrastructure.
The technology giant has set an ambitious target to capture roughly 90 percent of the CO₂ produced by the power plant’s operations. The captured carbon dioxide will be directed into the same deep geological storage formations that are currently used by the neighboring ADM facility. This site holds the distinction of being the location for the first long-term CO₂ storage well established in the United States.
Under normal operations, this storage well receives about 2,000 metric tons of CO₂ daily. However, injections were temporarily suspended in 2024 after the Environmental Protection Agency discovered that salty brine, which holds the dissolved carbon dioxide underground, had migrated into areas where it was not permitted. According to reports, ADM attributed the incident to corrosion in a monitoring well and has since recommenced injection activities.
The broader track record for carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology presents a complex picture. While it holds considerable potential for slashing emissions from fossil fuel power plants, its real-world performance has often fallen short. A recent analysis of 13 CCS facilities, which together represent over half of all captured carbon globally, found that most are failing to meet their projected targets. For instance, an ExxonMobil natural gas processing plant in Wyoming has been capturing 36 percent less CO₂ than anticipated. A project in Canada, which closely resembles Google’s proposed plant with a 115-megawatt capacity, has only managed to capture about half of its promised volume.
When CCS functions as intended, it can substantially reduce the pollution from burning natural gas for electricity. Nevertheless, the technology does not address a critical environmental issue: methane leaks throughout the natural gas supply chain. Methane is an exceptionally powerful greenhouse gas, trapping over 80 times more heat in the atmosphere than carbon dioxide over a 20-year period.
These persistent methane emissions complicate the overall climate impact. Research indicates that with a leakage rate of just two percent, the lifecycle emissions from natural gas can become comparable to those of coal. While capturing carbon at the power plant stack reduces direct emissions, it cannot negate the significant warming effect caused by the extraction and transportation of the gas itself.
(Source: TechCrunch)
