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terawatt

terawatt

3 5.5
A unit of power equal to one trillion watts
  • noun
  • /ˈtɛrəˌwɑt/
  • Specialized
translation icon : teravatio
  • Earth's heat output from radiogenic elements is estimated at about 20 terawatts, roughly half of the heat currently leaving Earth's interior.
  • terawatt hours

Examples

  • Such a layer would generate about 9 terawatts of heat.

    Academic text (2005)
  • The solar farm is expected to produce 3 terawatts of clean energy each year.

  • The US generates approximately a terawatt of electricity.

    Blog text (15)
  • Total world energy consumption is about 15 terawatts (2005).

    Blog text (5)
  • From what I have gathered, global electricity production is 20,000 Terawatt hours/year.

    Blog text (20)
  • In 2030, the world is projected to need about 33,264 terawatt hours (TWh) of electricity.

    Blog text (2)
  • To support a projected global population of 9.5 billion in 2050 with an average standard of living equivalent to the current US lifestyle would require about 268 terawatts, 16 times the current global energy use.

    Academic text (2011)
  • Producing energy at a rate of 5 terawatts would significantly reduce our reliance on fossil fuels.

  • Recent advancements in wind technology have led to the generation of over 2 terawatts of power globally.

How Powerful

terawatt
  • Specialized
3 5.5
gigawatt
  • Specialized
4.7
megawatt
  • Specialized
20 3.9
kilowatt
  • Specialized
16 3.2
watt
  • Specialized
106 2.9

Surface Forms

terawatt singular
terawatts plural

Morphology

terawatt = watt (transparent) = tera + watt

Formed by the productive SI prefix 'tera-' (meaning 10^12) added to the unit 'watt', so the meaning is directly derivable.

Etymology

Terawatt combines the prefix tera- meaning 'trillion' with watt, the unit of 'power' you find in kilowatt and megawatt. So a terawatt is a very large amount of power — one trillion watts.