Gigawatts (GW) to Megawatts (MW) Conversion
Gigawatts
The gigawatt (GW) is a unit of power equal to exactly 1,000,000,000 watts (10⁹ W), the scale of national electrical grids and large-scale power generation. The total installed electricity generation capacity of France is approximately 130 GW; that of the United States exceeds 1,100 GW. A lightning bolt peaks at around 1 TW for microseconds. The rapid growth of solar and wind power is often described in gigawatts of installed capacity added per year.
Megawatts
The megawatt (MW) is a unit of power equal to exactly 1,000,000 watts (1,000 kW), the standard scale for power plant output and large industrial consumers. A large wind turbine generates 2–15 MW; a typical nuclear reactor unit produces 1,000–1,600 MW (1–1.6 GW); a small hydroelectric dam might produce 10–100 MW. Data centres for large cloud providers can consume 100–500 MW of continuous power.
| Gigawatts (GW) | Megawatts (MW) |
|---|---|
| 0.1 GW | 100.00 MW |
| 1 GW | 1,000.00 MW |
| 2 GW | 2,000.00 MW |
| 3 GW | 3,000.00 MW |
| 5 GW | 5,000.00 MW |
| 10 GW | 10,000.00 MW |
| 20 GW | 20,000.00 MW |
| 30 GW | 30,000.00 MW |
| 50 GW | 50,000.00 MW |
| 100 GW | 100,000.00 MW |
| 1000 GW | 1,000,000.00 MW |
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
How many megawatts are in 1 gigawatts?
1 gigawatts (GW) is exactly 1,000.00 megawatts (MW).
How do I convert gigawatts to megawatts?
Multiply the value in gigawatts by 1,000.00 to get the result in megawatts. Or use the converter above — type any number and see the result instantly.