Google’s agreement last week to buy power from a 400 MW natural gas plant with carbon capture isn’t just a one-off deal — it could be a model for powering the AI boom. As our latest CCUS Fundamentals finds, this approach offers the lowest-cost, reliable source of low-carbon energy, setting a cost benchmark for the 24/7 clean power data centers require.
Gas-fired generation with CCS undercuts other low-carbon baseload options, such as geothermal and nuclear, largely because it is eligible for the 45Q CCUS tax credit. The Illinois project’s location in MISO 4 isn’t coincidental: the region ranks fourth in Class VI injection well capacity and is one of the top prospective areas for deploying this technology.
Low Carbon Infrastructure’s Broadwing Energy Center will capture 90% of the CO2 produced and store it at ADM’s Decatur facility starting in the early 2030s. ADM’s CCS#2 well resumed injection in August after being shut in for two years due to out-of-zone migration caused by corrosion in the well tubing. The firm, which injects CO2 from its corn-processing operations into deep saline formations, is seeking permits for additional Class VI wells to expand capacity. The Broadwing project has the potential to permanently sequester over 2 mtpa of CO2 emissions. Continued development suggests Google’s deal could serve as a blueprint for scalable, low-carbon power.
Research Highlights
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- TLN NAV 2Q25 | Have IPPs Overshot The Moon? – EIR’s bottom-up valuation of TLNs generation portfolio and view on the valuation of its equity.
- CCUS Policy Sentiment | States Catching Tailwind – We analyze which state-level policies support CCUS development, and which developers are best positioned to benefit.
- Long-Term Capacity Expansion | The Three Eras of Capacity Growth – Our capacity expansion model for the Lower 48, based on forecast load, risked interconnection queues and technology cost curves.
DID YOU KNOW?
Clean iron is produced electrochemically using renewable energy rather than traditional blast furnace smelting. While the technology is not yet commercialized, it offers a potential path to emissions-free iron production.
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