A kilowatt (kW) is 1,000 watts, a megawatt (MW) is 1,000 kilowatts, a gigawatt (GW) is 1,000 megawatts, and a terawatt (TW) is 1,000 gigawatts.

Instead of burning coal to heat water, nuclear power plants use heat produced during nuclear fission to heat water. Nuclear reactors do not produce these greenhouse gases, which contribute to global warming and climate change. Nuclear power is considered to be a “clean” source of energy.

Nuclear energy is NOT clean or carbon-free. After mining, milling generates vast amounts of radioactive and toxic tailings that are deposited on the ground or in open ponds. The nuclear fuel is then enriched in an energy-intensive process.

Although nuclear energy is considered clean energy its inclusion in the renewable energy list is a subject of major debate. The five renewable sources used most often are biomass, wind, solar, hydro and geothermal. Nuclear energy on the other hand is a result of heat generated through the fission process of atoms.

Nuclear energy is cleaner while generating electricity. Nuclear fission provides energy without releasing greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide. However, nuclear power plants generate radioactive waste, a critical factor when doing a fossil fuel to nuclear power pollution comparison.

1. United States. The US has 96 operable nuclear reactors across 30 states operated by 30 different power companies.
2. France. France produces approximately 70% of the electricity it consumes from nuclear energy, the highest in the world.
3. China.
4. Japan.
5. Russia.
6. South Korea.
7. Canada.
8. Ukraine.

Kilowatt to Terawatt Conversion Table

To date, it is the most powerful laser ever built, and it’s the most concentrated power on the planet. It’s hard to overstate the enormity of 10PW, which equates to 10 million billion watts. It was only a few years ago that this site referred to a mere 1PW laser as a Death Star. The new one is 10 times as strong.

9 billion watts