megawatt (MW)
1 megawatt = 1,000,000 watts
What is megawatt?
A megawatt is a unit of power equal to one million watts. It is used to rate the output of power plants, large industrial facilities, and grid-scale renewable energy installations.
Notes: Large-scale power
Real-world uses
Megawatts describe the output of power plants, wind turbines (typically 2–15 MW each), and large solar farms. A modern natural gas peaker plant might produce 50–500 MW. Data centres may have power demands of tens to hundreds of MW. Grid operators manage supply and demand in MW.
History
As electrical grids grew through the 20th century, the megawatt became the standard unit for power station output and grid management. It enables comparisons across coal, gas, nuclear, and renewable generation sources on a common scale.
Common mistakes
Confusing MW (power) with MWh (energy). A 100 MW power plant running for 10 hours generates 1,000 MWh (1 GWh) of energy. Also, not distinguishing between MW of capacity (nameplate) and MW of actual output (which varies for renewables).
When is this conversion used?
Converting megawatt to watt is useful in the power domain when comparing values across different measurement standards or applying formulas that require a specific unit.
How to convert megawatt to watt
To convert megawatt to watt, multiply the value by 1,000,000.
Conversion formula (from base unit)
x * 1e6
Measurement standards
The watt is the SI derived unit of power, defined as one joule per second (kg·m²/s³). Horsepower remains in widespread informal use, particularly in the automotive industry, but has no single universal definition across regions.
Did you know?
The human body at rest produces about 80 watts of power — roughly enough to keep an incandescent light bulb glowing. During intense exercise, a trained cyclist can sustain over 400 watts, and elite sprinters briefly exceed 2,000 watts.
| megawatts | watts |
|---|---|
| 0.1 | 100,000 |
| 0.5 | 500,000 |
| 1 | 1,000,000 |
| 2 | 2,000,000 |
| 5 | 5,000,000 |
| 10 | 10,000,000 |
| 25 | 25,000,000 |
| 50 | 50,000,000 |
| 100 | 100,000,000 |
| 250 | 250,000,000 |
| 500 | 500,000,000 |
| 1,000 | 1.000000e+09 |
Common values
| megawatts | watts | |
|---|---|---|
| LED light bulb | 0.00001 megawatts | 10 watts |
| Desktop computer | 0.0003 megawatts | 300 watts |
| Microwave oven | 0.001 megawatts | 1,000 watts |
| Small car engine | 0.075 megawatts | 75,000 watts |
| Wind turbine (large) | 3 megawatts | 3,000,000 watts |
Full megawatt conversion table
| Unit | Value | Factor |
|---|---|---|
| watt | 1 MW = 1,000,000 W | × 1,000,000 |
| kilowatt | 1 MW = 1,000 kW | × 1,000 |
| horsepower (mechanical) | 1 MW = 1,341.0220896 hp | × 1,341.0220896 |
| gigawatt | 1 MW = 0.001 GW | × 0.001 |
| milliwatt | 1 MW = 1.000000e+09 mW | × 1.000000e+09 |
| microwatt | 1 MW = 1.000000e+12 µW | × 1.000000e+12 |
| BTU per hour | 1 MW = 3,412,141.63513308 BTU/h | × 3,412,141.63513308 |
| kilocalorie per hour | 1 MW = 859,845.22785899 kcal/h | × 859,845.22785899 |
| ton of refrigeration | 1 MW = 284.34513626 TR | × 284.34513626 |