Google just signed the first corporate agreement of its kind to back a natural gas power plant with carbon capture technology. The Broadwing Energy facility in Illinois will capture 90% of CO2 emissions while generating over 400 MW to power Google's data centers, marking a pivotal moment for both clean energy and AI infrastructure scaling.
Google is placing a massive bet on carbon capture technology to solve one of tech's thorniest problems: how to power AI's explosive growth without wrecking the climate. The company just announced a groundbreaking corporate agreement with Broadwing Energy for a first-of-its-kind natural gas power plant that will capture and permanently store 90% of its carbon emissions.
The Illinois facility represents more than just another sustainability initiative - it's Google's answer to the brutal math of AI scaling. As the company races to meet surging demand for AI services, traditional renewable sources can't provide the round-the-clock baseload power that data centers require. "We're advancing a broad portfolio of new energy technologies that can support our growth," Google's Head of Advanced Energy Michael Terrell wrote in today's announcement.
The Broadwing project will generate over 400 MW of capacity - enough to power roughly 300,000 homes - while storing captured CO2 more than a mile underground in EPA-approved facilities operated by Archer Daniels Midland. ADM brings nearly a decade of CO2 storage experience from ethanol production, providing crucial operational credibility to what many still consider experimental technology.
This isn't Google going it alone. The deal marks the first project in a broader collaboration with Low Carbon Infrastructure (LCI), a portfolio company of infrastructure giant I Squared Capital. Together, they're planning additional CCS facilities across the U.S. to demonstrate commercial-scale deployment. "Our goal is to help bring promising new CCS solutions to the market while learning and innovating quickly," the company stated.
The timing couldn't be more critical. Leading climate authorities including the International Energy Agency and IPCC consider carbon capture essential for reducing emissions from power generation and carbon-intensive industries. But corporate adoption has lagged due to cost and scalability concerns.
