gigawatts

A gigawatt (GW) is the unit of electric power equal to one billion watts. It is commonly used to express the maximum rate at which electricity can be generated or consumed. One gigawatt equals 1,000 megawatts (MW) and is often used to describe the capacity of power plants or electric grids.

Power and energy are related but distinct. If a power of 1 GW is sustained for one hour, it delivers 1 gigawatt-hour (GWh) of energy, equivalent to 3.6 terajoules. In mechanical terms, 1 GW is about 1.34 million horsepower.

Applications: In planning, engineers refer to generation and transmission capacity in gigawatts. Individual nuclear reactors are typically around 1 GW, coal-fired units similar, while wind and solar farms must aggregate many turbines or panels to reach multi-GW scales.

Context and examples: National grids and large power plants are described in gigawatts for capacity and peak output. Offshore wind farms and solar parks are often planned in multi-GW scales as deployments grow.