Convert Gigawatt-Hours to Kilotons of TNT
Convert Gigawatt-Hours (GWh) to Kilotons of TNT (kt(TNT)) instantly and accurately.
Conversion Formula
kt(TNT) = GWh × 0.8604206501
About Gigawatt-Hours
A gigawatt-hour (GWh) is the energy from 1 GW for one hour - exactly 3.6 TJ. National electricity generation is reported in annual GWh: Ireland ~32,000 GWh/year; France ~496,000 GWh/year. The Hornsea One offshore wind farm (1.12 GW) generates ~4,000 GWh/year. The Bath County Pumped Storage (3 GW, USA) stores ~24 GWh. World total battery storage capacity reached ~1,600 GWh by end-2022. Energy of 1 megaton TNT ≈ 1.162 GWh. 1 GWh = 3.6 TJ = 1,000 MWh = 3.412 × 10⁹ BTU.
About Kilotons of TNT
A kiloton of TNT (kt(TNT)) = 10³ tons of TNT = exactly 4.184 TJ. It is the standard unit for sub-megaton nuclear weapon yields. Hiroshima's Little Boy: ~12-18 kt; Nagasaki's Fat Man: ~19-23 kt. The W88 warhead (Trident II) is ~475 kt; the W76 is ~100 kt. The Beirut port explosion (2020): estimated 0.5-1.1 kt. A magnitude 5.0 earthquake releases ~0.5-2 kt of seismic energy. A kiloton blast creates a fireball ~90-100 m radius and a lethal thermal radius of ~1-2 km. 1 kt(TNT) = 4.184 TJ = 1,162.8 MWh.
Quick Reference Table
| Gigawatt-Hours (GWh) | Kilotons of TNT (kt(TNT)) |
|---|---|
| 1 GWh | 0.860421 kt(TNT) |
| 2 GWh | 1.72084 kt(TNT) |
| 5 GWh | 4.3021 kt(TNT) |
| 10 GWh | 8.60421 kt(TNT) |
| 25 GWh | 21.5105 kt(TNT) |
| 50 GWh | 43.021 kt(TNT) |
| 100 GWh | 86.0421 kt(TNT) |