Business Insider Wins Polk Award For Data Centers
Business Insider has won the George Polk Award for Environmental Reporting for its investigation, The True Cost of Data Centers, which created a national database of 1,240 U.S. data centers by the end of 2024. The investigation used public records and lawsuits to reveal power and water consumption comparable to entire states, produced an interactive map and documentary with over 5 million views, and shared the database with 23 universities and at least 15 policy briefs.
Key Points
- 1Wins George Polk Award for Environmental Reporting for investigation identifying 1,240 U.S. data centers by end of 2024
- 2Reveals substantial power and water demands, exposing infrastructure strain and secrecy around AI data center expansion
- 3Provides a shared national database and map used by universities and policymakers for research and regulation
Scoring Rationale
Strong investigative dataset and broad national impact, limited by being reporting rather than technical innovation.
Sources
Public references used for this report.
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