A modern Cambridge study placed Ethereum near the lower end of energy intensity among the major proof-of-stake (PoS) blockchains, although the network still consumed more electricity overall than most PoS networks studied.
Cambridge Center for Alternative Finance estimated that Ethereum consumes approximately 7.87 gigawatt hours (GWh) of electricity annually. After adjusting for market value, the network consumed approximately 33 kilowatt-hours (kWh) per $1 million, the second-lowest value among the evaluated proof-of-stake networks, after BNB Chain.
Solana consumed the most electricity among the PoS networks studied – approximately 13.48 GWh per year. Its energy intensity was approximately 283 kWh per $1 million of market value, or approximately 8.5 times that of Ethereum, while the networks included in the comparison consumed a total of approximately 38 GWh.
The report provides one of the most detailed assessments of Ethereum’s post-merger footprint, giving policymakers and investors a more up-to-date basis for comparing blockchain sustainability.
Illustration of Ethereum consumption after connection. Source: Cambridge
New estimates map Ethereum’s energy consumption
Cambridge measured how much electricity was consumed by Ethereum wall nodes across 20 combinations of the network’s main client programs. We found that a typical home setup used about 18 watts, while a more powerful workstation used about 153 watts.
Using a mix of nodes hosted in residential and professional buildings, researchers estimated the average power consumption to be approximately 105 watts per node. Cambridge counted approximately 8,522 discoverable full nodes, of which 64% were running in the cloud or enterprise facilities and 36% were running on home connections.
Cambridge said Ethereum’s remaining issuance is currently generated primarily by the electricity grids that power its nodes. The study estimated that approximately 56.4% of the grid’s electricity mix came from renewables and nuclear sources, compared to 43.6% from fossil fuels.
Related: Vitalik Buterin shares the priorities of the modern “Lean Ethereum” strawmap.
Ethereum transitioned from proof-of-work mining to proof-of-stake verification through a merger in September 2022. The merger replaced competing miners using power-hungry computing hardware with validators who secure the network by staking Ether.
Post-merger, energy estimates showed that the upgrade reduced electricity consumption on the network by over 99.9% because it removed the mining process used to secure the blockchain.
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