Grok 4 Environmental Impact
~1.7T parameters, 100x compute over Grok 2, 72-75% SWE-Bench
- Architecture
- Dense Transformer (massive scale)
- Parameters
- 1700B
- Context
- 256,000 tokens
- Provider
- xAI
Energy per query
8.0 Wh
27x more than a Google search (0.3 Wh)
CO2 per query
2.7 g
US South (Tennessee) grid (420 gCO₂/kWh)
Water per query
15 mL
~68 queries to fill 1 litre
Processing location
xAI Memphis data centre
Provider
xAI
Category
Text / Chat
Grid carbon intensity
420 g CO2/kWh (30% renewable)
How does Grok 4 compare?
Detailed Breakdown
Energy Consumption
Grok 4 is one of the largest models ever deployed at approximately 1.7 trillion parameters, using 100x the compute of Grok 2. At ~8.0 Wh per query, it achieves 72-75% on SWE-Bench. It runs on xAI's Memphis 'Colossus' supercluster, one of the world's largest AI training facilities.
Power Source & Carbon
xAI operates the 'Colossus' supercluster in Memphis, Tennessee, powered by hundreds of thousands of GPUs. The US South grid has a carbon intensity of ~420 g CO2/kWh. xAI has faced scrutiny over the facility's energy consumption and use of diesel generators.
Water Usage
At ~14.8 mL per query, reflecting the massive GPU cluster's cooling requirements in Memphis's warm climate.
About Grok 4
Grok 4 is a 1700B-parameter text and chat model from xAI, released July 9, 2025. ~1.7T parameters, 100x compute over Grok 2, 72-75% SWE-Bench. At 8.0 Wh per query, it uses 27x the energy of a Google search. It runs on a Dense Transformer (massive scale) architecture.
These figures are estimates derived from hardware specifications and API benchmarks — xAI has not published official energy data for Grok 4. Actual consumption may vary significantly depending on batching, quantisation, and infrastructure optimisations that we cannot observe from outside.
Grok 4 in Context
The efficiency alternative
Gemini Nano performs the same type of task using just 0.01 Wh per query — 100% less energy than Grok 4. For a user sending 25 queries per day, switching would save 72.9 kWh per year.
At global scale
With an estimated 10M+ daily users averaging 10 queries each, Grok 4 consumes roughly 800 MWh of electricity per day — enough to power 26667 homes.
Your yearly Grok 4 footprint
At 25 queries per day, your annual Grok 4 usage consumes 73.0 kWh — a meaningful fraction of household electricity. That produces 24.8 kg of CO₂.
xAI Grok Family
How energy efficiency has evolved across versions.
What does your Grok 4 usage cost the planet?
Use our calculator to estimate your personal environmental footprint based on how often you use Grok 4.
Calculate My ComputeFrequently Asked Questions
How much energy does Grok 4 use per query?
Each Grok 4 query consumes approximately 8.0 Wh of energy. This is 27x more than a traditional Google search (~0.3 Wh).
What is Grok 4's carbon footprint?
Based on the carbon intensity of xAI Memphis data centre, each query produces approximately 2.7 g of CO2. The grid in this region has a carbon intensity of 420 g CO2/kWh with 30% renewable energy.
How much water does Grok 4 use?
Each query consumes approximately 15 mL of water, primarily used for cooling the data centers that process the request.
How does Grok 4 compare to a Google search?
A Grok 4 query uses 27x more than a Google search in terms of energy. A Google search uses approximately 0.3 Wh, while Grok 4 uses 8.0 Wh.
Technical Details
Architecture
Dense Transformer (massive scale)
Parameters
1700B
Context window
256,000 tokens
Release date
2025-07-09
Open source
No
Training data cutoff
2025-06