New Cambridge research shows Ethereum’s energy use and emissions have dropped by more than 99.9% since The Merge.
Ethereum now uses about 7.87 GWh of electricity each year, according to the Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance. The report says this is more than 99.9% below Ethereum’s final pre-Merge level.
Cambridge also estimated Ethereum’s yearly emissions at about 2.37 ktCO₂e. That figure represents a roughly 99.98% drop from the network’s final Proof-of-Work baseline.
The report was produced by the Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance at Cambridge Judge Business School. It used a bottom-up audit of about 8,522 Ethereum nodes worldwide.
The findings show that Ethereum’s energy profile changed sharply after The Merge. They also show that local power grids now shape most of the remaining carbon footprint.
Ethereum’s Power Use Falls After The Merge
The merger moved Ethereum from Proof-of-Work to Proof-of-Stake in 2022. Proof-of-Work used miners that competed with computing power. Proof-of-Stake uses validators that secure the network by staking ETH.
Cambridge said Ethereum now draws about 0.90 megawatts of continuous power. Its final pre-Merge baseline was about 2.4 gigawatts, according to the report. This shows how much electricity demand fell after mining ended.
The report compared Ethereum’s annual demand with the British Museum’s electricity use. Ethereum’s 7.87 GWh is less than half the museum’s reported 16.18 GWh yearly demand. This comparison helps show the current scale in simpler terms.
Cambridge Audit Tracks Nodes and Hosting
Cambridge based its estimate on real network infrastructure, not only theoretical models. The audit covered about 8,522 nodes that process Ethereum network data. These nodes help keep copies of the blockchain and share updates.
Cambridge Report: Ethereum’s Annual Power Use Falls to 7.87 GWh After The Merge
According to a new report from the Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance (CCAF), Ethereum consumes approximately 7.87 GWh of electricity annually following The Merge, a decline of more than 99.9%… pic.twitter.com/W2vWJW7BO8
— Wu Blockchain (@WuBlockchain) July 10, 2026
The report separated nodes from Ethereum’s roughly 894,000 validators. Validators help confirm transactions and secure the network through staked ETH. Nodes process data, while validators provide economic security for the chain.
Cambridge used wall-plug measurements from 20 client combinations and hosting data. The report estimated average power use at about 105 watts per node. Residential setups had a median of 18 watts, while larger setups used more.
Read also: Ethereum Eyes Bigger Correction as $1,815 Resistance Holds Firm
Grid Energy Now Shapes Ethereum’s Footprint
The report found that the United States hosts 31% of Ethereum full nodes. Germany hosts 16%, Finland hosts 8%, and France hosts 6%. Together, these four countries host about 62% of full nodes.
Cambridge said 36% of nodes run on residential hardware. The remaining 64% use cloud or enterprise data centers. Hetzner, Amazon Web Services, and OVH host about 40% of all nodes combined.
Cambridge found that 56.4% of Ethereum’s electricity comes from sustainable sources. Renewables supply 39.4%, while nuclear power supplies another 17.0%. Natural gas remains the largest single source at 27.7%.
The report said Ethereum’s footprint now depends mainly on local grid carbon intensity. In simple terms, node location now matters more than the consensus system.
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