MWh

Megawatt-hour (MWh) is a unit of energy equal to the amount of energy produced or consumed when a power of one megawatt operates for one hour. It is widely used in electricity markets and energy planning to quantify large-scale energy quantities.

Power is the rate at which energy is transferred, measured in watts or megawatts, while energy is the total amount of work done, measured in watt-hours. The megawatt-hour therefore represents power multiplied by time: 1 MWh equals 1 MW sustained for 1 hour.

Conversions and relations: 1 MWh = 1,000 kWh = 1,000,000 Wh. In joules, 1 MWh equals 3.6 × 10^9 J (since 1 Wh = 3600 J). In larger terms, 1 GWh equals 1,000 MWh, so 1 MWh = 0.001 GWh.

Applications: MWh is used to express electricity generation, consumption, and storage at grid or facility scales. For example, a 500 MW power plant running for two hours yields 1,000 MWh of energy, and battery storage capacities are commonly stated in MWh to indicate usable energy. Because it conveys both capacity and duration, the MWh is convenient for comparing different energy sources, fuels, and storage technologies in the electric sector.