Gigawatt-hours to Milliwatt-hours conversion

How to convert gigawatt-hours to milliwatt-hours?

To convert from gigawatt-hours (GWh) to milliwatt-hours (mWh), you need to understand the relationship between the units of measure for energy.

1 Gigawatt (GW) = 10^9 watts (W) 1 Milliwatt (mW) = 10^-3 watts (W) 1 Hour (h) = 3600 seconds (s)

So, 1 GWh = 1 GW * 1 h = 10^9 W * 1 h = 10^9 W * 3600 seconds = 3.6 * 10^12 watt-seconds (or joules, J)

To convert this into milliwatt-hours:

1 GWh = 10^9 W * 1 h = 10^9 W * 1 h * 10^6 mW/W (since 1 watt = 10^3 milliwatts) = 10^15 milliwatt-hours (mWh)

So,

1 Gigawatt-hour (GWh) = 1,000,000,000,000 milliwatt-hours (mWh) = 10^15 milliwatt-hours (mWh).

Real-world Examples for Other Quantities of Gigawatt-hours:

1. Energy Consumption:

• New York City: The annual energy consumption of New York City is around 60,000 GWh. This provides electricity to millions of residents, powering homes, businesses, and infrastructure.

2. Large Data Centers:

• Google Data Centers: Google’s global data centers reportedly use around 12 TWh (terawatt-hours, where 1 TWh = 1,000 GWh) per year to power their servers, cooling systems, and other operations.

3. Renewable Energy:

• Large Solar Farms: A large solar farm like the Tengger Desert Solar Park in China can generate around 1,500 GWh annually. This is enough to power hundreds of thousands of homes.

4. Public Infrastructure:

• Trains: A high-speed train system like the Shinkansen in Japan can use approximately 60 GWh per year, depending on the number of trains and frequency of service.

5. Industrial Usage:

• Aluminum Production: Aluminum smelters are very energy-intensive and can consume up to 14,000 GWh per year, depending on the size and technology of the smelter.

These examples highlight the vast range of energy consumption and generation scenarios where gigawatt-hours are a practical unit of measurement.