Last Update: 06/03/2026 at 5:25 AM EST
Google Data Centers And Carbon Capture
Coverage from Investigate Midwest, Heatmap News, and others
Articles
15
Latest Article
05/14
Active Days
205
Executive Summary
Google's rising data center demand is driving a wave of carbon-capture-linked power deals, proposed gas plants, and policy debate over how to supply reliable electricity with lower emissions. The clearest pattern is not broad CCS deployment, but a small set of large, still-developing projects centered on Google, Illinois, Nebraska, and utility-scale gas generation. The topic remains coherent and moderately dense, with strong current signal but important uncertainty around financing, permitting, and whether these projects reach operation as planned.
Key Points
- Google is the central actor in the strongest current signal, using long-term power procurement and project partnerships to secure firm electricity for data centers.
- The main operational pattern is proposed natural-gas generation paired with carbon capture and storage, especially in Illinois and Nebraska.
- Data center load growth and grid speed constraints are driving interest in faster-build firm power options rather than renewables alone.
- Most of the CCS activity is still pre-commercial or planned; several projects are announced, but few if any are operating at the scale described.
- Policy and permitting remain material constraints, especially around grid connection, storage approvals, and incentives such as 45Q and CCS-specific certificates.
- There is a clear split between proponents presenting CCS as a practical near-term decarbonization tool and critics noting that costs and execution risk remain high.
- The cluster also includes broader analysis suggesting CCS could become one of several responses to AI-driven electricity demand, but that deployment is still limited by capital intensity.
Featured Article
Google signed a CCS power purchase agreement for a 400-megawatt Decatur, Illinois plant to supply electricity for Midwest data centers through MISO.
Coverage Timeline: 205 Days
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Additional Articles
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Nebraska lawmakers are considering a bill to expand grid access for private power plants serving large industrial users tied to proposed Tenaska-led data center development in Otoe County.
Google will contract for most power from a CCS-equipped natural gas plant in Decatur, Illinois, targeting early 2030 operations to support 24/7 carbon-free electricity goals.
Google and Energy Dome plan CO2 battery storage near data centers to provide long duration renewable power.
Cleanview reports Google data center expansion in the U.S. is increasing electricity demand while combining co-located solar and wind procurement with at least one Texas onsite gas power permit without carbon capture.
Google and Broadwing Energy plan a 400 MW natural gas plant in Illinois to capture and store CO2 underground with CCS.
Google and energy partners advance carbon capture and storage in the US power sector to support data center growth in 2024 and beyond.
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AI-fueled electricity demand is prompting U.S. data-center power proposals to pair natural gas plants with carbon capture and storage, despite high capital costs.
Tenaska is reported in Nebraska to develop a 1,000 to 3,000 MW gas plant for potential Google data-center power, with possible CCS under a bill expanding grid excess-power sales.
Tenaska proposes a Nebraska natural gas plant for a data center potentially operated by Google, with possible CCS and grid connection under state legislation.
Wood Mackenzie estimates carbon capture on natural gas could cut US data centre emissions within 3-5 years as data centre power demand grows by 2030.
Climeworks argues that direct air capture carbon removal should be integrated into cloud and AI product pricing to address residual emissions from fast-growing data centers powered by constrained grids.
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CCS captures CO2 and stores it globally.
Google agreed in 2024 to buy power from Broadwing Energy's 400+ MW Illinois gas plant that will capture and store about 90% of its CO2 at ADM's Class VI site in Decatur.
Google signs a 2026 construction deal in Decatur Illinois to build a 400 MW Broadwing CCS powered plant.