CCAF reports Ethereum power use falls to 7.87 GWh annually
Cambridge confirms Ethereum power use drops to 7.87 GWh; CO₂ down 99.98%
The Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance says Ethereum slashed power demand and emissions after The Merge. The network moved to proof‑of‑stake on September 15, 2022.
CCAF’s new report finds annual electricity use at 7.87 GWh, about 0.90 MW continuous. That’s down from 2.4 GW pre‑Merge. CO₂ output fell from 10.3 MtCO₂e to 2.37 ktCO₂e. Reported reduction is 99.98%. Source: Cambridge CCAF.
Real‑world scale helps. Pre‑Merge power draw matched Iceland’s grid. Post‑Merge footprint is about half the British Museum’s, near the Eiffel Tower’s annual use. Source: Cambridge CCAF.
Against legacy finance, CCAF estimates banking consumes ~260 TWh/year across data centers, branches, and ATMs. Ethereum at 7.87 GWh is “roughly 33,000 to one,” or 4.5 orders of magnitude smaller. Source: Cambridge CCAF.
Cross‑chain comparison:
- Solana uses over 13.4 GWh/year
- NEAR uses 5.11 GWh/year
- CCAF: Ethereum is efficient relative to its economic weight
Source: Cambridge CCAF.
The report shifts ESG debates. Energy and carbon targets are now well inside common screens. Source: Cambridge CCAF.
New focus is infrastructure risk. Secondary coverage of the audit notes full‑node clustering by country and cloud providers. This moves scrutiny from emissions to network resilience. Context: Wu Blockchain, Snapcrackle.
Funding remains a separate concern. A related review tracks developer funding sustainability and runway. Read: Coinspeaker analysis.
