I can't possibly express my existential torment that I feel when I read statements like this in an article.
Just state the damn power in SI units.
A close second is measuring the size of something in terms of "football fields" or "Rhode Island" (wtf??). I am pretty sure this is tied into the general innumeracy of the population.
This is from the BBC, not a scientific journal. While your average reader may know that their microwave is 800W, telling them "This turbine will generate <x> kW" doesn't mean anything. They _do_ have a home. If they don't _need_ to know/use Watts on a day to day basis, then the number is just going to be forgotten. However, they _might_ remember "a tidal turbine that can power thousands of homes".
It would be lovely if everyone was scientifically literate, but people have other shit going on in their lives. On a pragmatic level, I'd rather society remember the abstract idea of 'how many homes' than _forget_ the precise '<x> megawatts'.
Largest turbine and it’s only going to power 2000 homes?
That’s apparently about 9% of the power for the island, not counting industry (eg, Scotch), which sounds more impressive, but not that impressive.