Convert Gigawatts to Terawatts
Convert Gigawatts (GW) to Terawatts (TW) instantly and accurately.
Conversion Formula
TW = GW × 0.001
About Gigawatts
A gigawatt (GW) is 10⁹ W - the scale of national grid capacity. UK peak demand is 40-70 GW; France 80-100 GW. Japan's Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear complex totals 8.2 GW. World installed solar PV surpassed 1,000 GW in 2022. The North Sea Link Norway-UK undersea cable carries 1.4 GW. Global data centre consumption exceeds 200 GW. A lightning bolt peaks at ~1 GW for ~30 µs, yielding only ~250 kJ total energy - power is extreme, energy modest. 1 GW = 10⁹ W.
About Terawatts
A terawatt (TW) is 10¹² W. All of human civilisation consumes ~17-18 TW (electricity + heat + transport combined); global electricity generation alone is ~9 TW. Solar irradiance intercepted by Earth is ~174,000 TW; photosynthesis captures ~130 TW. The National Ignition Facility (NIF) fusion laser produces pulses of ~500 TW lasting nanoseconds. High-power laser facilities for nuclear physics and ICF research routinely exceed 1 TW in ultrashort pulse regimes. 1 TW = 10¹² W.
Quick Reference Table
| Gigawatts (GW) | Terawatts (TW) |
|---|---|
| 1 GW | 0.001 TW |
| 2 GW | 0.002 TW |
| 5 GW | 0.005 TW |
| 10 GW | 0.01 TW |
| 25 GW | 0.025 TW |
| 50 GW | 0.05 TW |
| 100 GW | 0.1 TW |