AN IN-DEPTH investigation which revealed the huge quantities of carbon dioxide being released from data centre generators has been shortlisted for the 2025 Sigma Awards. 

These prestigious international awards celebrate the best data journalism from around the world.

This project from The Journal Investigates was the only Irish investigation on the shortlist.

The nominated article was by investigative journalist Conor O’Carroll. It was part of a project examining the environment cost of the AI boom in Europe with Pablo Jiménez Arandia, a freelance reporter in Spain. 

It was shortlisted alongside well-known publications including the Guardian, BBC News, The Washington Post, Bloomberg, Reuters, Al Jazeera and Financial Times.

The Irish Times were also nominated as part the Dubai Unlocked investigation, a collaborative project involving over 70 outlets across the globe.

In total 37 project and 13 portfolios made the shortlist, out of almost 500 data journalism projects from dozens of countries who entered. 

Editor of The Journal Investigates Maria Delaney said it was an honour to be on a list with such an array of strong and impactful data journalism projects from around the world.

One of our key focuses in our investigative unit is to utilise data to expose the impact that issues are having on our society and environment.

“Support from our readers has really enabled our team to spend time honing our skills in this important area of journalism over the past number of years.”

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Trawling through over 20 years of planning files

Our investigation revealed that data centres in Ireland using backup and emergency generators are releasing huge quantities of carbon dioxide emissions. Our series was developed with the support of Journalismfund Europe.

These backup generators are used to keep the energy-hungry equipment in these centres operational during times of grid connectivity issues. They are not connected to the electricity grid and run on fossil fuels.

We uncovered that over 135,000 tonnes of CO2 was emitted from these centres in the last five years.

As companies don’t reliably report this information, O’Carroll sourced this data from an EU database. 

O’Carroll also trawled through 20 years worth of planning records to build a list of data centres that had been granted planning permission in Ireland. 

Our findings highlighted how some planned data centres intend to be powered by natural gas because they cannot be connected to the grid as it is under such strain. 

This pivot to natural gas was described by climate experts as damaging to Ireland’s ability to meet legally-binding climate targets.

You can browse the full shortlist here >>