Mega What? by Ornesha De Paoli

The word “megawatt” or (MW) has become a common addition to our language in the recent past. Prior to that, energy production and consumption wasn’t at the top of our lists, thus there was no real need to learn a new word.

Power production technology is changing and advancing very rapidly now, and with it, bringing into the spotlight the need to understand how this fits into our lives.

On a utility scale, electricity is obviously measured on a larger scale and so the term “Megawatt” is used. Megawatt combines the use of the metric system and use of a word we’re all familiar with…a Watt.

The word “Watt” means a total measurement of electrical power (volts x amps = watts) and comes from inventor James Watt (1736 – 1890) who invented steam engines and moved the industrial revolution forward full st*&m ahead.

Watts, however, equate to a very small amount of measured electricity (an average light bulb uses 100 Watts) making a larger measurement standard necessary when inserting power producing facilities into the mix.

“Mega” then, is a prefix of the metric system meaning 1,000,000 (one million). So a megawatt (MW) is essentially one million Watts, or 1,000 (one thousand) kilowatts (kW).

Megawatt-hour

The term “megawatt-hour” is also gaining ground in both industry and also through public interest and public awareness campaigns. Just by taking a look at your latest energy bill for your home or business, for example, you will see just how many kilowatt-hours of electricity you used and the price per kilowatt-hour you paid.

Understanding this is also understanding energy efficiency, which will ultimately become your guide in helping to establish sustainable energy production methods.

The term “megawatt-hour” is used not as a description of a unit of power, like the word “megawatt”, but as a measurement of how much energy (watt) is produced for one hour BY one megawatt. One megawatt-hour, therefore would mean one million watts of electricity was produced or consumed in one hour.

Why this matters ~

One megawatt, enough to power one million light bulbs, may or may not seem like a lot of generated electricity. But then step back and think of what it took to power one million light bulbs and where the source of that power came from.

Is it from a source that is also creating carbon dioxide, particulate matter and other toxins? Is it from a source that changes its price (measured in kWh’s) depending upon the availability of that fuel?

The choice is ours.

Clean and sustainable energy production at prices comparative or lower than those of traditional methods is here and comes in many different forms.

Let’s choose green Watts.

Ornesha

About The Author

Ornesha is a Sr. Vice President in Jetstream Wind, Inc., a renewable energy company focusing on solar-hydrogen clean energy technology.

The author invites you to visit:
http://www.jetstreamwind.com