Google's Carbon Capture Investments: A Mixed Record

Google's Investment in Carbon Capture Technology

Today, Google announced a significant investment in a natural gas power plant located in Illinois. This facility is designed with the intention of capturing a substantial portion of its carbon dioxide emissions.

Plant Details and Location

The planned power plant will have a capacity of 400 megawatts and will be constructed near Decatur. Its location is adjacent to an ethanol production facility operated by Archer-Daniels-Midland (ADM). ADM already implements CO₂ capture technology in its existing operations.

Google intends to procure the majority of the electricity generated by the plant to power its data centers in the vicinity. Furthermore, ADM will utilize a portion of the power plant’s steam and electrical output.

The development of this new project is being spearheaded by Low Carbon Infrastructure.

Carbon Capture Goals

Google aims to capture approximately 90% of the CO₂ produced by the power plant, according to the company’s statement.

The captured carbon dioxide will be injected into established geological storage formations. These are the same formations currently utilized by ADM’s ethanol facility. Notably, the site hosts the first long-term CO₂ storage well in the United States.

Previous Storage Issues

Currently, around 2,000 metric tons of CO₂ are typically injected into the well daily. However, injections were temporarily suspended in 2024.

The EPA reported that salty brine, containing dissolved CO₂, had migrated into “unauthorized zones” underground. ADM attributed this incident to corrosion within a monitoring well, as reported by E&E News, and injections have since resumed.

Challenges with Carbon Capture and Storage

While carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology holds considerable potential for reducing carbon emissions from both coal and natural gas power plants, its real-world performance has been inconsistent.

A recent analysis of 13 CCS facilities, representing 55% of all captured carbon, revealed that many are not meeting projected performance levels.

For example, an ExxonMobil facility in Wyoming is capturing 36% less carbon than anticipated. A Canadian power plant with a 115-megawatt capacity, most comparable to Google’s project, has only achieved about 50% of its promised capture rate.

Limitations of CCS

CCS can effectively mitigate pollution resulting from natural gas combustion for power generation. However, it does not address methane leaks occurring throughout the natural gas supply chain.

Methane is a highly potent greenhouse gas, exhibiting 84 times the warming potential of carbon dioxide over a 20-year period.

Even small leakage rates can significantly alter carbon accounting. With a leakage rate of just 0.2%, the climate impact of burning natural gas without abatement becomes comparable to that of coal.

While carbon capture can reduce this impact, it cannot entirely eliminate the warming associated with the extraction and transportation of natural gas.