Megawatts (MW) to Gigawatts (GW) Conversion
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
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 (MW) | Gigawatts (GW) |
|---|---|
| 0.1 MW | 0.0001 GW |
| 1 MW | 0.001 GW |
| 2 MW | 0.002 GW |
| 3 MW | 0.003 GW |
| 5 MW | 0.005 GW |
| 10 MW | 0.01 GW |
| 20 MW | 0.02 GW |
| 30 MW | 0.03 GW |
| 50 MW | 0.05 GW |
| 100 MW | 0.1 GW |
| 1000 MW | 1 GW |
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
How many gigawatts are in 1 megawatts?
1 megawatts (MW) is exactly 0.001 gigawatts (GW).
How do I convert megawatts to gigawatts?
Multiply the value in megawatts by 0.001 to get the result in gigawatts. Or use the converter above — type any number and see the result instantly.