The high levels of scalability offered by the Solana network have helped it stand out in the crypto space. It has been touted as having a lot of potentials and this is becoming more evident. It appears that the network is now surpassing some of the top tech companies in the market when it comes to efficiency. According to a recent report, it was discovered that the energy used for processing a transaction on Solana’s blockchain was less than two searches that are done on the Google search engine. Currently, there are proof-of-work blockchains, the most prominent one being Bitcoin, which are dealing with a lot of criticism because they consume a great deal of energy.
The carbon footprint has been labeled as destructive, but it seems that the proof-of-history consensus that Solana uses has resulted in some major gains for the network as a whole. Solana published the Energy Use Report for November 2021 and disclosed that that processing one transaction on the Solana blockchain requires about 1836 joules of energy. According to the Solana Foundation, when you compare this consumption of energy against other simple activities that also need energy, such as running a Google search, you will discover something very surprising.
Running a simple search on Google takes about 1080 joules of energy, which means one transaction on the Solana blockchain takes less energy than two searches that you perform on Google. The Solana Foundation did not stop here and went on further to compare the energy consumption of the Solana blockchain with the consumption of energy when charging a mobile phone. 24 times less energy is needed by Solana blockchain for processing transactions, as opposed to charging a mobile phone. The energy consumption of the network is also significantly lower than an LED bulb that uses up about 36,000 joules of energy within an hour of use.
These energy consumption statistics are undoubtedly more intriguing than that of Bitcoin. As per statistics, the pioneer cryptocurrency is responsible for consuming 91 terrawatt-hours of energy every year. But, if you compare it with Solana’s annual energy consumption, you will find that the latter takes about 3,186,000 kWh every year. This latest energy report comes when discussions have been taking place about cutting down on carbon emissions. The crypto sector is now being ranked as one of the biggest consumers of energy because of mining activities and transaction processing, it appears that the Solana Foundation is doing everything possible to cut down its carbon footprint.
The foundation is working on coming up with different ways to reduce the environmental impact. For the rest of the year, they want to introduce a program that can come in handy for making the validator network of Solana carbon neutral. The Solana Foundation further disclosed that they would provide regular reports regarding their energy consumption. The greatest competitor of the blockchain is Ethereum, which is currently facing high electricity and gas bills. These days, networks are focusing more on eco-friendliness and efficiency. Some of the other networks doing so include Ripple, Neon Labs, and Avalanche.
