Convert Megawatt-Hours to Ergs

Convert Megawatt-Hours (MWh) to Ergs (erg) instantly and accurately.

Conversion Formula

erg = MWh × 3.600000000e+16

About Megawatt-Hours

A megawatt-hour (MWh) is the energy from 1 MW for one hour - exactly 3.6 GJ. It is the standard unit for wholesale electricity trading. Power purchase agreements (PPAs) specify capacity and price in $/MWh or €/MWh. A 5 MW wind turbine at full capacity generates 5 MWh/h. Primary aluminium smelting consumes 13-15 MWh per tonne. The Moss Landing battery (California) stores 3,287 MWh. The daily output of a 1 GW nuclear plant at 90% capacity factor is ~21,600 MWh. 1 MWh = 3.6 GJ = 3,412,141 BTU = 1,000 kWh.

About Ergs

An erg is the CGS unit of energy - the work done by one dyne through one centimetre - exactly 10⁻⁷ J. Despite SI adoption, the erg persists in astrophysics: the Sun's luminosity is 3.828 × 10³³ erg/s; gamma-ray burst isotropic energies are quoted in units of 10⁵¹ erg ('one foe'). Surface tension of water is 72.8 dyn/cm; the work to create 1 cm² of new water-air interface is 72.8 erg. Earthquake seismic moment M₀ is in dyn·cm = erg; the 2004 Boxing Day earthquake had M₀ ≈ 10²³ J = 10³⁰ erg. 1 erg = 10⁻⁷ J = 624.15 eV.

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