Wind farms need high-voltage interconnect

[BHunterSEAL]

As far as I can tell, the game is actually trying to simulate something like a real power grid, with transmission constraints, load / gen pockets and so on. That's admirable, but
unless I'm misunderstanding (I didn't play much Cities I), wind turbines can only be connected to low-voltage power lines. This makes utility-scale wind farms impractical from a gameplay standpoint, because they have no way to connect to your high-voltage transmission grid. (It also means excess generation can't be exported, I think).

That makes no sense to me. In reality, while it's true that turbine generators produce power at a very low voltarge, transformers installed at the base of the turbines step-up the voltage for collection by the wind farm's medium-voltage internal collection grid. A step-up transformer at the point of common coupling--the interconnect with the utility's transmission network--results in voltage at the busbar suitable for long-distance transmission (115-138 kV being common).

Wind turbines are the only resource type impacted by this issue--everything else available can use high-voltage interconnects. So it doesn't make a ton of sense to add a step-up transformer building to model a real collection system. Instead, wind turbines ought to be able to use high- or low-voltage power lines.

That's all.

Edit: I was wrong, apparently excess power for export is calculated independently of whether your grid can actually deliver the power.

[Rory]

You can export it. You just need to install a substation and connect it to your high power transmission wires and then you can export it.

[icedude94]

Well assuming maximum generation with upgrades, you can hook up 8 wind turbines per transformer and connect 5 transformers to a single high voltage power line. That's 40 wind turbines per high voltage line.

Edit: correction 4 turbines per transformer due to the transmission limits of the roads.

[BHunterSEAL]

I'm confused, are you saying the transformer substations in-game step up and step down? They don't have interconnect points for low voltage cables and the description seems to be fairly clear that they go one way only...

[Mansen]

Yeah I think you're slightly confused as to what transformers are for exactly. They're merely converting a wider, regional grid to a localized one.

You can forgo transformers completely, if your entire city is wired in together via electric cable carrying roads or small scale power lines.

To buy and sell power from neighbors, you do need to wire up each grid into it.

[icedude94]

You can put 8 turbines on a low voltage power line, split that and connect it to 2 separated road pieces, each with a transformer. Then you can connected 5 of those transformers to a single high voltage power line.

[BHunterSEAL]

I think I get it. You're basically saying, as long as there are enough distribution lines connecting load and gen, 'pockets' won't develop because power will flow to load via any available line. In other words, you only need to rely on high-voltage lines if you are generating more than your roads can carry. Power flows both ways through transformer substations.

That also means Cables are essentially pointless other than for connecting turbines to roads, right?

I guess this makes sense from a gameplay perspective, it's just very, very different from how actual power grids work.

[icedude94]

It also means you can use power lines to connect 2 road networks to the grid without having a road connection or transformer substations and high voltage lines...so they aren't entirely useless.