Gigawatts to Milliwatts Converter
Enter a value to instantly convert between power units.
1 Gigawatt = 1.0000e+12 Milliwatt
Key Formulas
Kilowatt → Horsepower (mech)
hp = kW × 1.34102Horsepower (mech) → Kilowatt
kW = hp × 0.7457Watt → Kilowatt
kW = W × 0.001Kilowatt → Watt
W = kW × 1000Formula
mW = GW × 1,000,000,000,000The gigawatt-to-milliwatt span is 12 orders of magnitude — from the output of a nuclear power station to the draw of a single IoT sensor. This conversion appears in energy education and science communication, where expressing 1 GW as one trillion milliwatts makes the scale difference visceral: one power plant equals one trillion 1 mW devices running simultaneously.
Source: NIST SP 811, Table B.8
Last reviewed: · see our methodology
Frequently Asked Questions
Real-World Examples
1 GW of nuclear power output = 1,000,000,000,000 mW — enough to run one trillion 1 mW IoT sensors simultaneously.
1 GW = 1000000000000 mW
0.001 GW (1 MW) wind turbine = 1,000,000,000 mW — powering one billion 1 mW devices, or about one 1 kW appliance per hour.
0.001 GW = 1000000000 mW
0.0001 GW (100 kW) solar installation = 100,000,000 mW — equivalent to 100 million 1 mW sensors or 100,000 1,000 mW LED bulbs.
0.0001 GW = 100000000 mW
5 GW of national wind capacity = 5 trillion mW — a vivid illustration of why grid-scale power dwarfs electronics.
5 GW = 5000000000000 mW