LLaMA 3.3 70B Environmental Impact
Current default 70B model — improved efficiency over 3.1
- Architecture
- Dense Transformer (decoder-only)
- Parameters
- 70B
- Context
- 128,000 tokens
- Provider
- Meta
Energy per query
1.0 Wh
3x more than a Google search (0.3 Wh)
CO2 per query
0.40 g
Global Average grid (475 gCO₂/kWh)
Water per query
2 mL
~526 queries to fill 1 litre
Processing location
Self-hosted (varies)
Provider
Meta
Category
Text / Chat
Grid carbon intensity
475 g CO2/kWh (27% renewable)
How does LLaMA 3.3 70B compare?
Detailed Breakdown
Energy Consumption
LLaMA 3.3 70B delivers performance comparable to the much larger 405B model at a fraction of the compute cost. At ~1.0 Wh per query, it has become the default open-source model for many production deployments. It represents the sweet spot between capability and efficiency.
Power Source & Carbon
Widely deployed across all major cloud providers and self-hosted setups. Its single-GPU inference capability (with quantisation) makes it accessible for deployment on lower-carbon infrastructure.
Water Usage
At ~1.9 mL per query, LLaMA 3.3 70B has a modest water footprint comparable to GPT-4o.
About LLaMA 3.3 70B
LLaMA 3.3 70B is an open-source text and chat model from Meta, released in December 6, 2024, that runs well below the category average for energy consumption at 1.0 Wh per query. Because its weights are publicly available, it can be self-hosted on any infrastructure — meaning its carbon footprint depends entirely on where and how you choose to run it. At 70B parameters, it current default 70b model — improved efficiency over 3.1.
These figures are estimates derived from hardware specifications and API benchmarks — Meta has not published official energy data for LLaMA 3.3 70B. Actual consumption may vary significantly depending on batching, quantisation, and infrastructure optimisations that we cannot observe from outside.
LLaMA 3.3 70B in Context
Your yearly LLaMA 3.3 70B footprint
At 25 queries per day, your annual LLaMA 3.3 70B usage consumes 9.1 kWh — comparable to running a LED light bulb for a month. That produces 3.6 kg of CO₂.
Key Insights
Meta LLaMA Family
How energy efficiency has evolved across versions.
What does your LLaMA 3.3 70B usage cost the planet?
Use our calculator to estimate your personal environmental footprint based on how often you use LLaMA 3.3 70B.
Calculate My ComputeFrequently Asked Questions
How much energy does LLaMA 3.3 70B use per query?
Each LLaMA 3.3 70B query consumes approximately 1.0 Wh of energy. This is 3x more than a traditional Google search (~0.3 Wh).
What is LLaMA 3.3 70B's carbon footprint?
Based on the carbon intensity of Self-hosted (varies), each query produces approximately 0.40 g of CO2. The grid in this region has a carbon intensity of 475 g CO2/kWh with 27% renewable energy.
How much water does LLaMA 3.3 70B use?
Each query consumes approximately 2 mL of water, primarily used for cooling the data centers that process the request.
How does LLaMA 3.3 70B compare to a Google search?
A LLaMA 3.3 70B query uses 3x more than a Google search in terms of energy. A Google search uses approximately 0.3 Wh, while LLaMA 3.3 70B uses 1.0 Wh.
Technical Details
Architecture
Dense Transformer (decoder-only)
Parameters
70B
Context window
128,000 tokens
Release date
2024-12-06
Open source
Yes
Training data cutoff
2024-12