Woofun AI reports that a recent assessment by the Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance positions Ethereum with the second-lowest energy intensity among major proof-of-stake (PoS) blockchains, trailing only BNB Chain in efficiency metrics.

Total annual electricity consumption for Ethereum is estimated at 7.87 gigawatt-hours (GWh). When normalized by market value, this translates to 33 kilowatt-hours (kWh) per $1 million, a figure significantly lower than Solana, which consumed 13.48 GWh annually with an intensity of 283 kWh per $1 million—approximately 8.5 times higher than Ethereum’s ratio. Across the broader comparison group, combined network consumption reached 38 GWh, highlighting Ethereum’s substantial but efficient footprint relative to peers.

Woofun AI data shows that node infrastructure varies significantly in power draw, with residential setups averaging 18 watts and powerful workstations reaching 153 watts. The study calculated a weighted average of 105 watts per node based on the distribution of 8,522 discoverable full nodes, where 64% operate in cloud or enterprise facilities and 36% run on residential connections.

The energy mix supplying these nodes remains a critical variable, with 56.4% derived from renewable and nuclear sources. The remaining 43.6% comes from fossil fuels, indicating that while the grid dependency persists, the majority of Ethereum’s operational emissions are mitigated by cleaner energy inputs.

This efficiency profile stems from the transition completed in September 2022, known as The Merge, which replaced energy-intensive proof-of-work mining with proof-of-stake validation using staked Ether. By eliminating the competitive mining process, the network achieved a 99.9% reduction in electricity use, fundamentally altering its environmental impact.