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Apr 02, 2026

Google backs 933 MW Texas gas plant for AI datacenter, raising questions about its carbon‑free pledge

AI Summary
Google has confirmed a partnership with Crusoe Energy to build a 933‑megawatt natural‑gas power plant in Armstrong County, Texas, to supply its new Goodnight AI datacenter. The project, which could emit up to 4.5 million tons of CO₂ annually—comparable to San Francisco’s total emissions—marks a stark shift from the company’s earlier carbon‑neutral commitments and follows similar gas‑fuel moves by other tech giants.

New research by Cleanview and a subsequent confirmation from Google reveal that the tech giant is collaborating with Crusade Energy to develop a 933‑megawatt natural‑gas power plant in the sparsely populated Armstrong County of the Texas panhandle. The facility will serve the Goodnight AI‑focused datacenter campus, signaling a notable departure from Google’s long‑standing clean‑energy narrative.

The plant, slated for off‑grid operation, is intended to power at least two buildings on the Goodnight site. Satellite imagery commissioned by Cleanview shows construction already under way, following a permit application filed in January.

According to the 465‑page permit filing, the plant could emit as much as 4.5 million tons of carbon dioxide per year—roughly the same amount released annually by the entire city of San Francisco. This emission level underscores the environmental stakes of the project.

Cleanview founder Michael Thomas described the venture as “one of the first direct investments in fossil‑fuel infrastructure” he has seen from Google, suggesting a strategic pivot away from the company’s historic climate leadership.

When queried, Google spokesperson Chrissy Moy did not deny the partnership but clarified that “we don’t have a contract in place for the plant in Texas.” She noted that negotiations are ongoing and pointed to a separate wind‑farm partnership with Serena Energy in the region. Crusoe Energy declined to comment.

The Texas project is Google’s third known involvement with gas‑fuel facilities in recent months. Earlier in October, the company announced an agreement to purchase power from a gas plant in Illinois, and documents obtained in May revealed exploratory talks on a large‑scale gas project in Nebraska.

Despite the shift, Google maintains that natural gas does not conflict with its climate objectives. The firm argues it is moving from a strategy of buying carbon credits to one of “building the grid” to secure carbon‑free energy for its operations.

At a recent energy conference in Houston, Google’s head of advanced energy, Michael Terrell, declined to elaborate on how natural gas aligns with the company’s sustainability roadmap.

From carbon‑free promises to “climate moonshots”

Google has long positioned itself as a climate leader, setting a 2020 goal to achieve net‑zero carbon emissions across all operations by 2030 and investing heavily in wind, solar, geothermal and nuclear projects. However, the rapid expansion of AI workloads has strained those commitments.

The 2023 sustainability report noted that Google was no longer “maintaining operational carbon neutrality,” and a 2024 update reported a 48 % rise in greenhouse‑gas emissions since 2019, driven largely by datacenter energy demand.

By 2025, the company reframed its emissions targets as “climate moonshots,” acknowledging the growing complexity of meeting its 2030 ambitions amid AI‑driven uncertainties.

Google is not alone in this trend. Competitors such as Meta, Amazon and Microsoft have also turned to natural‑gas‑powered facilities to meet the soaring energy needs of their AI infrastructures, highlighting a broader industry tension between rapid AI deployment and climate pledges.

Thomas of Cleanview summed up the situation: “The race to build AI is creating a new tension with climate goals that these hyperscalers have long championed.”