Google Is Turning On The Gas For Its Data Centers

Google’s latest promise to support a caller cleanable power exertion is… a state project? To beryllium precise, it’s a gas-fired powerfulness works outfitted pinch filtering devices to seizure its planet-heating c emissions. Is this conscionable a polluting fossil substance task successful sheep’s clothing? 

Google conscionable inked an statement to support nan improvement of a caller gas-fired powerfulness works successful Illinois called nan Broadwing Energy Center. It’ll beryllium paired pinch carbon seizure and retention (CCS), exertion meant to select c dioxide from smokestack emissions and past shop it underground truthful that nan greenhouse state doesn’t build up successful nan atmosphere.

Is this conscionable a polluting fossil substance task successful sheep’s clothing? 

In theory, that’s expected to thief nan satellite from heating beyond nan constituent astatine which rising oversea levels render full coastal communities unlivable and water warming kills disconnected nan world’s coral reefs, among different disasters brought connected by ambiance change. In reality, CCS is mired successful doubts astir its method and financial feasibility. There’s besides a patient magnitude of skepticism complete whether CCS will only prolong dependence connected fossil fuels alternatively than encouraging a modulation to much sustainable sources of energy, for illustration star and upwind power.

Google says it has agreed to acquisition “most” of nan powerfulness that nan caller 400MW-capacity powerfulness works astatine Broadwing produces erstwhile it starts operating successful 2030. “Our extremity is to thief bring promising caller CCS solutions to nan marketplace while learning and innovating quickly,” Google says successful its announcement today. 

So far, CCS has a beautiful checkered way grounds successful nan US. The US Department of Energy (DOE) has burned done hundreds of millions of dollars connected grounded CCS projects, according to a 2021 report by nan Government Accountability Office. Of astir $684 cardinal spent connected CCS projects astatine six ember plants, only 1 of them ever came online. The different projects suffered from “factors affecting their economical viability,” nan GAO study says. 

The costs of energy from powerfulness plants mixed pinch c seizure is astatine slightest 1.5 to 2 times much expensive than that from solar, wind, aliases accepted ember and state powerfulness plants without CCS, according to a 2023 report based connected accommodation successful Australia. Already, rising energy request from information centers person contributed to climbing inferior bills successful nan US.

The azygous CCS task that moved forward successful nan US pinch DOE support came online successful 2017 earlier shuttering for a fewer years starting successful 2020, erstwhile nan covid-19 pandemic sent lipid prices crashing. Why was it truthful delicate to lipid prices erstwhile nan works burned coal? The task supplied captured CO2 to an “enhanced lipid recovery” project, a process involving shooting nan CO2 heavy into nan crushed to unit retired hard-to-reach reserves, arsenic a intends of staying financially viable.  

The task that Google is backing differs successful a mates cardinal ways. The works burns gas, which has go a cheaper measurement to make powerfulness than than burning ember successful nan US. And nan CO2 will beryllium sequestered a mile underground successful a good adjacent nan powerfulness plant, alternatively than sold arsenic a merchandise for enhanced lipid recovery. Google claims Broadwing will beryllium capable to permanently shop astir 90 percent of nan c dioxide emissions nan works generates, a fig higher than galore different CCS projects person been capable to execute to date. 

That doesn’t relationship for different problems associated pinch gas-fired powerfulness plants. Even though nan manufacture prefers the word “natural gas,” they chiefly pain methane, which is simply a greenhouse state moreover much potent than c dioxide. Methane routinely leaks from lipid and state wells and pipelines, a problem that simply capturing CO2 astatine a powerfulness works fails to solve. Gas plants besides nutrient other aerial pollutants that airs wellness risks to adjacent communities. 

Solar and onshore upwind power farms don’t travel pinch nan aforesaid ambiance contamination problems and are typically cheaper to deploy than fossil fuel-fired powerfulness plants these days. Google has been 1 of nan biggest firm purchasers of renewable power for years now, helping upwind and solar go nan fastest-growing sources of caller energy generation.  

Google doesn’t mention that successful its announcement today, however, possibly reflecting nan governmental tide turning against renewables successful nan US nether nan Trump administration. Donald Trump has installed fossil substance executives to lead nan Department of Energy and other cardinal posts successful his management while clawing back antecedently allocated national costs for renewable power projects and issuing extremity activity orders to offshore upwind farms nether construction. 

Republicans are sunsetting taxation incentives for star and upwind projects, but not for CCS, incidentally. CCS has needed nan financial support to thief it get disconnected nan ground, and now it has different backer successful Google. Google is trying to satiate energy-hungry information centers arsenic it scales up its AI ambitions, and its carbon footprint has grown successful nan process.