Understand it / 20 seconds
What does one gigawatt actually mean?
A gigawatt is a rate of power: one billion watts at an instant. If a 1 GW load ran continuously for one year, it would use 8.76 TWh of energy. Power is the speed; energy is the amount accumulated over time.
02Show meFollow the connection
- 011 GW power
- 02× time
- 038.76 TWh per year
- 04Grid supply
- 05Cost + emissions depend on source
Here's what matters
The answer changes when these conditions change.
- 01MW is not MWh
- 02Nameplate capacity is not annual generation
- 03A facility may not draw its full contracted load every hour
- 04Firm power and variable generation are different concepts
03Prove itOpen the machinery
This explainer uses definitions, not a disputed numerical claim.
As the research library expands, project-specific evidence will appear here rather than being filled with placeholders.