Ethereum Energy Usage, the Carbon Footprint Down to 99.99%

• The total energy demand for Ethereum is now only 2,600 MW hours per year.
• Ethereum’s annual CO2 emissions reduced by over 11 million tons.

The long-awaited Ethereum merge has finally completed. It was designed to consume less energy, and the network has drastically reduced the overall energy consumption of the blockchain network. According to the initial report, Ethereum’s energy requirements and carbon footprints have both decreased even more than predicted.

The Merger Leads to Reduced Energy Usage

And, according to an analysis commissioned by Ethereum-centric software company ConsenSys from the Crypto Carbon Rating Institute (CCRI), Ethereum currently consumes 99.99% less energy than before the merge. It also implies that the blockchain’s carbon footprint has decreased by more than 99.99%.

The ETH Foundation previously stated that the merge will reduce the network’s energy consumption by 99.95%. Citing energy consumption estimates from Digiconomist, a site run by famous crypto critic Alex de Vries. This week, Digiconomist claimed that the true figure would be 99.98%.

As per the CCRI analysis, ETH overall energy demand is now only 2,600 megawatt hours per year, down from 23 million megawatt hours before the merge. Ethereum’s annual CO2 emissions reduced from over 11 million tons to just under 870 less than the combined total of 100 ordinary American houses, according to the EPA.

In a statement, CCRI co-founder and CEO Uli Gallersdörfer stated 

“That Ethereum’s ecological cred is now on a level with those of other energy-efficient blockchain networks that began with a proof-of-stake consensus mechanism rather than switching to one as Ethereum recently did.” ConsenSys also claimed the “biggest decarbonization in technology history.”

While Ethereum claims to have reduced its environmental effect significantly. Many former ETH miners, that is, people who used expensive computers to protect the network and earn ETH rewards have simply gone on to mine money on other networks. Miners have moved their powerful rigs to other blockchain networks to mine. Including Ethereum Classic (ETC), Ravencoin (RVN), and Ergo (ERG).

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