Google’s bets on carbon capture power plants, which have a mixed record

Google is investing in a new 400-megawatt carbon capture power plant near Decatur, Illinois, adjacent to an ethanol facility operated by Archer Daniels Midland (ADM), which already captures CO2 from its operations. Google plans to purchase most of the plant’s electricity for its data centers and aims to capture approximately 90% of the CO2 emissions generated. The captured CO2 will be injected into geological storage formations previously used by ADM, marking the site as the location of the first long-term CO2 storage well in the U.S. However, CO2 injections were paused in 2024 after the EPA found that salty brine containing dissolved CO2 had migrated into unauthorized zones due to corrosion in a monitoring well. While carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology holds promise for reducing emissions from fossil fuel power plants, its track record is mixed. Data from 13 CCS facilities, representing over half of all captured carbon, shows many underperforming expectations. For example, an ExxonMobil