Tech giant Google is committing to help with insulating homes, upgrading windows and replacing inefficient heating and cooling systems to reduce energy bills as it builds a large data center between Columbia and St. Louis.
The company is spending $1.5 million for home weatherization in Montgomery, Lincoln, Pike, and Warren counties. The Northeast Community Action Corporation, or NECAC, a social services nonprofit that works on anti-poverty initiatives in 12 counties throughout central and eastern Missouri, is carrying out the weatherization, which can mean anything from caulking windows to replacing a home’s HVAC system.
“Weatherization has two main features. First, it cuts down people's utility bills by adding insulation, by caulking around windows, by replacing furnaces,” NECEC public relations officer Brent Engel said. “You get bills that can be reduced as much as 50%. Second, it helps communities because it keeps those older homes viable for a lot more years.” He said the organization recently finished its first home repair using Google funds.
As Google develops a massive data center used to power artificial intelligence technologies in Montgomery County, the company has committed $20 million overall to support what it calls “energy affordability, efficiency, and community resilience” in Missouri.
Katie Ottenweller works on energy market development for Google and said the company will announce how the rest of the funding will be allocated across Missouri later this year.
“Coming into Montgomery County, we feel like what better way to come into the neighborhood than to help our neighbors cut their electric bills,” Ottenweller said.
In documents before the Missouri Public Service Commission, Google said the company has a “long-term interest in ensuring the state’s electric grid remains reliable, clean, resilient, and affordable for all users.”
“Large corporations play a big part in helping pick up where government services leave off,” Engel said. “If we can be assisted by any company that's willing to boost the energy efficiency of homes in the Midwest and especially in Missouri, we're all for it.”
Engel said it generally costs $8,000 to $10,000 to weatherize a home in NECAC’s service area and that $1.5 million will “go a long way” over the next year.
Google’s donation to aid energy affordability comes as the Missouri Public Service Commission conducts a “working case” to study the effectiveness of electricity bill assistance programs in the state — initiatives that help low-income residents avoid getting their power disconnected.
Geoff Marke is participating in the case as chief economist at the Missouri Office of Public Counsel, the state’s consumer representative. He said Google’s commitment to energy efficiency is an encouraging development.
Marke and other public counsel staff have been recommending this type of community support be required for companies that want to build AI data centers in the state.
“We are largely aligned, at least conceptually, with what Google's exploring here. But the devil's in the details, like most things,” he said.
As Missouri utilities are ramping up plans to build new power plants due to surging electricity demand from forthcoming AI data centers, some state officials are questioning whether policy can protect Missouri residents from footing the bill. Ameren has announced multiple solar, gas and battery projects to meet surging demand.
In documents filed with the Missouri Public Service Commission, Marke has expressed concern that proposed power plants being planned by the state’s largest utilities are solely intended to meet demand caused by AI data centers.
Google’s Ottenweller said the tech company does not want to put “strain on the grid” or have their AI facilities increase Missourians’ utility bills.
“Google's commitment is that we are going to build our data centers the right way, and that involves us paying for 100% of the power costs to serve our data center operations,” she said.
