LLaMA 4 Scout Environmental Impact
Open-source MoE — 10M token context, fits on one GPU
- Architecture
- Multimodal Transformer (MoE, 16 experts, iRoPE)
- Parameters
- 109B
- Context
- 10,000,000 tokens
- Provider
- Meta
Energy per query
0.60 Wh
2x more than a Google search (0.3 Wh)
CO2 per query
0.24 g
Global Average grid (475 gCO₂/kWh)
Water per query
1 mL
~909 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 4 Scout compare?
Detailed Breakdown
Energy Consumption
LLaMA 4 Scout activates only 17B of its 109B total parameters per token via MoE routing across 16 experts. It fits on a single H100 GPU with int4 quantisation, making it remarkably efficient for its capability level. Estimated at ~0.6 Wh per short query — similar to a small dense model despite its large total parameter count.
Power Source & Carbon
As an open-source model that fits on a single GPU, Scout can be self-hosted on diverse infrastructure. The carbon impact depends entirely on the deployment location. Meta's own data centres run about 60% on renewable energy.
Water Usage
At approximately 1.1 mL per query, Scout's water footprint is low. When self-hosted on personal hardware, water consumption drops to effectively zero.
About LLaMA 4 Scout
LLaMA 4 Scout is an open-source text and chat model from Meta, released in April 5, 2025, that runs well below the category average for energy consumption at 0.60 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 109B parameters, it open-source moe — 10m token context, fits on one gpu.
These figures are estimates derived from hardware specifications and API benchmarks — Meta has not published official energy data for LLaMA 4 Scout. Actual consumption may vary significantly depending on batching, quantisation, and infrastructure optimisations that we cannot observe from outside.
LLaMA 4 Scout in Context
Your yearly LLaMA 4 Scout footprint
At 25 queries per day, your annual LLaMA 4 Scout usage consumes 5.5 kWh — comparable to running a LED light bulb for a month. That produces 2.2 kg of CO₂.
Key Insights
Meta LLaMA Family
How energy efficiency has evolved across versions.
What does your LLaMA 4 Scout usage cost the planet?
Use our calculator to estimate your personal environmental footprint based on how often you use LLaMA 4 Scout.
Calculate My ComputeFrequently Asked Questions
How much energy does LLaMA 4 Scout use per query?
Each LLaMA 4 Scout query consumes approximately 0.60 Wh of energy. This is 2x more than a traditional Google search (~0.3 Wh).
What is LLaMA 4 Scout's carbon footprint?
Based on the carbon intensity of Self-hosted (varies), each query produces approximately 0.24 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 4 Scout use?
Each query consumes approximately 1 mL of water, primarily used for cooling the data centers that process the request.
How does LLaMA 4 Scout compare to a Google search?
A LLaMA 4 Scout query uses 2x more than a Google search in terms of energy. A Google search uses approximately 0.3 Wh, while LLaMA 4 Scout uses 0.60 Wh.
Technical Details
Architecture
Multimodal Transformer (MoE, 16 experts, iRoPE)
Parameters
109B
Context window
10,000,000 tokens
Release date
2025-04-05
Open source
Yes
Training data cutoff
2025-02