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Faizan
A megawatt-hour (MWh) is equal to 1,000 kilowatts or 1 million watts of electricity produced by a power plant that runs continuously for one hour. In other words, one megawatt-hour is equivalent to the total amount of electrical energy produced by a power plant that can power about 330 homes in one hour. By learning important concepts about a megawatt hour, you will not only be able to perform relevant calculations, but know the different types of electric power-generating plants.
Calculation
You can calculate the actual amount of energy produced by an electric power plant in one year, E, in megawatts hours (MWh) by multiplying the plant’s capacity (C) in megawatts (MW) by the number of hours in one year, 8,760.
Conversion
Converting megawatts-hours into other multiple units of watts and megawatt-hours, including gigawatts, megawatts, kilowatts, gigawatt-hours, megawatt-hours, and kilowatt-hours, involves formulas that employ basic division and multiplication skills. For example, to convert megawatt-hour to megawatts, you can divide the number of megawatt hours by the number of hours using a calculator.
Cost
Power utility companies sell electrical energy in units of kilowatt-hour. Several market forces determine the wholesale price, including demand and time of day, while the state regulates retail prices. For example, in the United States, for all sectors of usage, the average retail price of electricity for March 2011 was 9.66 cents per kilowatt-hour (kWh). Thus in megawatt-hour, the retail price was 9.66 cents multiplied by 1,000, or $96.60.
Plant Types
Commonly used power plants, according to Edison Electric Institute, include coal, petroleum, natural gases, biomass, geothermal, solar, wind, nuclear electric power, and hydroelectric pumped storage. Different regions or states use different plants depending on several factors, including availability, quality, and cost of fossil fuels used by electric power generating plants. Throughout 2010, in the United States, the net generation by all energy sources totaled 4,120,028 megawatt-hours.
Calculation
You can calculate the actual amount of energy produced by an electric power plant in one year, E, in megawatts hours (MWh) by multiplying the plant’s capacity (C) in megawatts (MW) by the number of hours in one year, 8,760.
Conversion
Converting megawatts-hours into other multiple units of watts and megawatt-hours, including gigawatts, megawatts, kilowatts, gigawatt-hours, megawatt-hours, and kilowatt-hours, involves formulas that employ basic division and multiplication skills. For example, to convert megawatt-hour to megawatts, you can divide the number of megawatt hours by the number of hours using a calculator.
Cost
Power utility companies sell electrical energy in units of kilowatt-hour. Several market forces determine the wholesale price, including demand and time of day, while the state regulates retail prices. For example, in the United States, for all sectors of usage, the average retail price of electricity for March 2011 was 9.66 cents per kilowatt-hour (kWh). Thus in megawatt-hour, the retail price was 9.66 cents multiplied by 1,000, or $96.60.
Plant Types
Commonly used power plants, according to Edison Electric Institute, include coal, petroleum, natural gases, biomass, geothermal, solar, wind, nuclear electric power, and hydroelectric pumped storage. Different regions or states use different plants depending on several factors, including availability, quality, and cost of fossil fuels used by electric power generating plants. Throughout 2010, in the United States, the net generation by all energy sources totaled 4,120,028 megawatt-hours.
Posted in: Go Green
