UsesLevel 5 of 6 organisationOrganisation, level 5 of 6Calculated with 3 entries, levels 1 and 3Database structure 
6Territories
4Occupations and activities
3Uses
2Machine operations
1Calculation factorsContent production (writing and images), 1 year
10 articles of 1,000 words written with AI and 200 images generated every week, or more than 10,000 images a year. Projet Celsius estimate.
- "Create an image" accounts for 98% of emissions in this scenario.
- 100% of the calculation rests on database assumptions; it does not measure actual use.
- Out of scope: human proofreading, server manufacturing and model training.
Sentence to citeContent production (writing and images), 1 year, Projet Celsius estimate: 16 kgCO2e per department per year, for 34 kWh of electricity, servers worldwide (458 gCO2e/kWh).
- Calculated with
Breakdown of emissions by item
16 kgCO2e in total: 34 kWh of electricity × 458 gCO2e/kWh (servers worldwide).
Inputs of the calculation
PUE of the data centre, Read 1,000 tokens, Write, with reasoning, Generate an image, Article of 1,000 words, Create an image
How the calculation is built
Calculated from the writing of one article and the creation of one image.
Comparison with other organisations
Characteristics
| Unit | 1 service, 1 year : 200 images per week |
|---|---|
| Default location | world, 458 gCO2e/kWh (Ember 2025, life cycle); 11 other locations to choose from |
| Counted | the writing of articles and the generation of images, data centre included |
| Not counted | human proofreading, server manufacturing and model training |
| Status | estimated |
All the characteristics
| Identifier | IA-0092, projetcelsius.com/en/ai/database/IA-0092/ |
|---|---|
| Version | 0.3 of 2 November 2026 |
| Category | Organisations, one organisation, one year |
| Choice of the selected value | database calculation from the entries this one is made of, at the quantities of the unit |
| Sources | calculation of the database |
| Licence | CC BY 4.0 |
Usage parameters
Advanced settings
Result for the chosen case
200 images per week, servers worldwide: 16 kgCO2e, 34 kWh.
For a carbon footprint
| Item | purchases of services (GHG Protocol scope 3, category 1); regulatory BEGES, category 4 |
|---|---|
| Quantity | 1 department over one year |
| Factor | 16 kgCO2e per department over one year, IA-0092 version 0.3, based on the local grid (location-based), servers worldwide |
| Total | 16 kgCO2e · not counted: human proofreading, server manufacturing and model training |
Breakdown by item
Quantity, unit value, contribution and nature of the data for each item
| Item | Quantity | Unit value | Contribution | Share | Nature of the data |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Create an image | × 10,400 | 3.2 Wh | 33 kWh | 98 % | assumption |
| Article of 1,000 words | × 520 | 1.1 Wh | 580 Wh | 2 % | assumption |
Entries that use it
No other entry in the database is calculated from this one.
Sources of the calculation
3 publications, for this entry and those used to calculate it, with the chosen parameters.
The result is calculated by Projet Celsius. The sources below support its uses, its factors and its conversion; they do not all measure this total.
Energy and factors
The references of the selected values and of the entries used in this calculation.
Luccioni et al. · October 2024
Role and limits : Luccioni et al.
Author. Luccioni, Jernite and Strubell
What the publication covers. GPU, processor, memory
What it does not cover. data centre
Reading by the database. Open models only
Create an image → : Generate an image →
One image, of the chosen size: standard by default
Scope of the figure used. GPU, processor, memory; excluding the data centre
Limit. This figure covers part of the calculation; it does not measure the whole entry.
Reference for the variant "Standard image, from 512 to 1,024 pixels per side"
Scope of the figure used. Average of the open models tested, 1,000 images; median 1.35 Wh, maximum 11.49 Wh
Limit. Open models only; closed generators publish nothing
Watershed · Aug. 2026
Estimating GHG Emissions from AI Use: Framework for Corporate-Level Measurement ↗ (new tab)
Role and limits : Watershed
Author. Bistline, Ulissi, Davis, Glidden, Joyce, Li, Mohsenin and Suh (Watershed)
What the publication covers. factors per 1,000 tokens read and written at the server before PUE (host and standby machines included), PUE separate (1.10 for a large operator, 1.56 for an unknown operator)
What it does not cover. clean measurements, the model and the hardware
Reading by the database. Default factors proposed for review (public data as of June 2026); for a large operator, taken from Google's measurement published in 2025 (Elsworth et al.), which already contains the data centre overhead; constant per token, they underestimate long contexts and agents according to the authors
Reference for the variant "Medium model, Watershed default factor"
Scope of the figure used. Default factor for 1,000 tokens read, medium model, large operator, at the server before PUE (Watershed table 2, public data as of June 2026)
Limit. A default value that Watershed derives from Google's measurement (0.24 Wh for the median text query of the Gemini app), with about 500 tokens per query and a written token costing 3 times a read token; Watershed does not give the split between read and written tokens. The 0.24 Wh already include the overhead of Google's data centre (0.02 Wh, 8%): with 375 tokens read and 125 written, the simplest reading, the factor contains it, and the PUE of 1.10 applied afterwards counts it a second time (about 9%). Values proposed for review, final at the next version of the framework
Reference for the variant "Medium model, Watershed default factor"
Scope of the figure used. Default factor for 1,000 tokens written, medium model, large operator, at the server before PUE (Watershed table 2, public data as of June 2026)
Limit. 3 times the reading factor, based on the ratio between writing and reading selected by Watershed (Patel et al., Splitwise, 2024). Same derivation and same caveat as for reading: Google's 0.24 Wh already include about 8% of data centre. Values proposed for review, final at the next version of the framework
Article of 1,000 words → : Data centre PUE →
The data centre, convention C3
Scope of the figure used. building cooling and losses
Limit. This figure covers part of the calculation; it does not measure the whole entry.
Reference of the selected value
Scope of the figure used. Default factor for a large operator, from the server to the data centre; 1.56 for an unknown operator
Limit. A default value, not a measurement
Create an image → : Data centre PUE →
The data centre, convention C3
Scope of the figure used. building cooling and losses
Limit. This figure covers part of the calculation; it does not measure the whole entry.
Conversion into carbon
The source of the electricity factor of the selected location.
Worldwide: 458 gCO2e/kWh, life cycle.
Role and limits : Ember
Author. Ember, Our World in Data
What the publication covers. electricity generation over the life cycle, by country
What it does not cover. guarantees of origin
Reading by the database. The same source for all countries
Conversion of electricity into carbon: worldwide
Scope of the figure used. the production of electricity over the life cycle, including power plant construction and fuels
Limit. An average for the chosen country, not the electricity contract or the data centre of a specific service.
Nature of the data
Published readings, conventions, assumptions
- Projet Celsius assumptions 100 %
Calculation assumptions
Quantities, nature and source of each assumption
Article of 1,000 words : × 520
The articles written with AI, every week of the year
Create an image : × 10,400
The images generated, attempts included, every week of the year
Methodology conventions
With their alternatives
| The data centre | Server electricity is multiplied by 1.10 for the data centre |
|---|---|
| The default location | Without other information, the servers are in the world, at the world average electricity |
| Electricity, location-based, on a life cycle basis | The kilowatt-hour is that of the servers' country, on a life cycle basis, from a single source for all countries |
| Two significant figures | A calculated value is rounded to two significant figures, a published value is reproduced with the precision of its source; the calculation keeps full precision |
| The formula | the sum of what makes up the entry, then CO2e: electricity (Wh) multiplied by the carbon intensity of the server location (gCO2e/kWh), divided by 1,000 |
| Calculate a case without an entry | The formula, the default values and a step-by-step example |
Uses in the hub
Charts, figures, analyses and articles that cite this entry
History
Entry in version 0.3 of 2 November 2026, in the database in version 0.4
- 2 November 2026Designation : A newsroom that generates its own images becomes Writing, image generation, 1 year.More precise designation: the object first, the specification after the comma, the quantity or period at the end; the former title remains searchable.
- 2 November 2026Designation : Writing, image generation, 1 year becomes Content production (writing and images), 1 year.A more precise name.
- 2 November 2026Short title : Writing, images, 1 year becomes Content production.A more precise name.
- 31 October 2026Creation of the database, in its first version (0.1).
