To determine how many solar panels are needed to generate 1 megawatt, you can use a very simple equation. One megawatt consists of one million watts, so all you do is divide one million by the wattage of your solar panels: 1,000,000 / solar panel wattage = number of solar panelsCalculating one megawatt of solar energy involves several methods, depending on the context of the inquiry. Thinking about solar panels? You may ask, “How much power can they really make?” That's where our solar panel power calculator comes in. Based on this consumption and the rated power of the load, we can calculate the required capacity (P in. A megawatt (MW) is a unit of power equivalent to one million watts. To put this into perspective: – 1 MW = 1,000 kilowatts (kW) – 1 kW = 1,000 watts Solar energy systems are typically measured in kilowatts (kW) when discussing residential installations and in megawatts (MW) for larger commercial.