Convert Megawatt-Hours to Gigajoules

Convert Megawatt-Hours (MWh) to Gigajoules (GJ) instantly and accurately.

Conversion Formula

GJ = MWh × 3.6

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 Gigajoules

A gigajoule (GJ) is 10⁹ J - the scale of fossil-fuel commodity volumes. One barrel of crude oil contains ~5.80 GJ; one metric tonne of hard coal ~29.3 GJ. Canadian energy bills express household consumption in GJ: average Canadian households use ~100-130 GJ/year. A 1 GW power plant at 33% efficiency burns ~10.9 GJ/h of fuel to generate 1 GWh = 3.6 GJ of electricity. Detonation of 1 tonne of TNT releases 4.184 GJ. 1 GJ = 10⁹ J = 277.78 kWh = 947,817 BTU = 9.4782 therms.

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