The solar station cliff [Strategy]

[This PC]

I tried something on my most recent game, a cliff entirely designed as an autonomous power station to charge batteries: https://puu.sh/E4GuN/e566d21eb0.jpg

As you can see, I can run a lot of power over long term with this single cliff and I am making decent money selling the excess batteries:
https://puu.sh/E4Gv4/2cb006121f.jpg
https://puu.sh/E4Gvj/d0d4209f9b.jpg
Notice how I also have lots of Drone Stations, which consume a lot of the batteries themselves.

I am sure I could get rid of more power in my cities and rely more on the batteries even ;)
I have overhead right now.
I have power grid technology, but not the battery technologies yet.
The cliff has the advantage of having no maintenance cost at all beyond the initial investment.

[Mistfox]

Got to ask, is there any point in making more than 1 battery charging station? If the amount of extra power increases the speed of charging in proportion then shouldn't one station be enough if you can unload it fast enough?

[This PC]

Yes :D The stations store more batteries per cubic meter than storage :D
(Unless storage is upgraded - but even then, at the speed it charges with only one station, it fills before a drone gets there, so better have a few still :))

Notable point: Power grid only draws from storage, so make sure you have a few by the time you research it. :D I am still on the same game, currently switching to capsule power, and I gotta say, the strategy is pretty stronk. <3

It also cuts on the drone work - they have one less step to go through if they take them directly from the station to where it needs to go.

[CHOO CHOO]

How do you operate the solar power plants without workers?

I'm not 100% sure about this, but from a glance I think that getting the most batteries requires having a certain ratio of charging stations to power plants. Can't put numbers to it, I'm afraid.

But if you have a given amount of power production, then two charging stations should produce twice as many batteries as one, no?

[This PC]

No because if you have one station, it has all the power to charge batteries, it isn't set consumption, it takes all the power you have and puts it into a single battery, the more you have, the quicker it charges, having two makes one charge half as fast, four, 1/4th as fast... I haven't looked into the exact numbers though, I just know this is working absolutely beautifully. <3
Almost to the point where I feel I have unlocked a key strategy. :)

Notable strategy, once you have power grid, ship batteries to the other extremity of your triangle so both feed into the middle one, if you don't have your solar cliff in the middle to feed both itself. <3 I'm realizing that ideally you'd want it in the middle of your two cities.

Another bonus is it leeches off extra manpower, removing the consequences of having too many people on connected cliffs.

I'm thinking this all might be unintended :D

[CHOO CHOO]

Still, don't you need manpower to run the solar power plants?

[This PC]

No, look in the first screenshot <3 That's why I say it might be unintended.

See, with 6% manpower, look at the % gauge bottom corner:
https://puu.sh/E4Ifg/f7f99ccb48.jpg
Dialog of a single panel: https://puu.sh/E4Igw/5efb6e5ca8.jpg

Notice how I fully repaid the 50,000$ debt and remade that much.
Admittedly any game should be running smoothly at this point, but I'm surprised how easy it made the whole thing. :D

[Veretragna]

Originally posted by CHOO CHOO:

Still, don't you need manpower to run the solar power plants?

I think even if manpower's needed, they can travel through bridges and work there

[This PC]

Originally posted by Veretragna:

Originally posted by CHOO CHOO:

Still, don't you need manpower to run the solar power plants?

I think even if manpower's needed, they can travel through bridges and work there

You. Don't. Need. Manpower. :D
no offense <3 just want to make it clear
not for the maintenance stations, not for the solar panels, not for the storage, not for the battery chargers, and not for the portals :x

[Veretragna]

Originally posted by jdtuggey:

You. Don't. Need. Manpower. :D
no offense <3 just want to make it clear
not for the maintenance stations, not for the solar panels, not for the storage, not for the battery chargers, and not for the portals :x

I know buddy. You don't need them. My point was - if you even need them, then it's not an end of the world, you have bridge and things