Thermal Power Plant

Power Facility

Facility that use combustible materials (such as coal) as fuel to generate electrical energy. Between the energy output and the calorific value of the consumed fuels has energy efficiency.

Energy Type		Thermal
Power		2.16 MW
Energy Efficiency		80%
Made In		Assembler
Hand-Make		Replicator
Stack Size		50

1

5 s

10

4

Summary

Thermal generators are a descendant of the old 20th century power plants. Burning fossil fuels heats and boils water into steam, which spins generator turbines. Modern advancements have allowed the water to be recycled, and more energy to be captured from the combustion process. Even with modern improvements, these generators still suffer from a 20% efficiency loss, reducing the amount of energy captured from fuel. Even with the efficiency loss, thermal generators are very compact, allowing only a few of them to power large factories. In the same space that 2 wind turbines take up, Thermal Power Stations produce over 3 times the power. They also run full-time, unlike solar panels, which are restricted to daytime operations. However, in order to operate, they must constantly be supplied with combustible material to burn.

Thermal Power Plants can burn a wide variety of items:

Plant Fuel and Logs
Coal, Energetic Graphite, Graphene, and Carbon Nanotubes
Hydrogen, Deuterium, and Hydrogen Fuel Rods
Crude Oil and Refined Oil
Organic Crystals
Fire Ice

Production Chain

Recipe	Building	Replicator?	Technology
1 5 s 10 4 4 4		✔

Components
Component	Time	Sub componet 1	Sub componet 2
1x	1 sec	1x
1x	1 sec	1x
1x	1.5 sec	1x
2x	2 sec	2x	1x

Total Raw Materials

Materials
Item	Used for
16x
4x
2x

Player Tips & Tricks

Burn Rates

The duration a piece of fuel will last is based on its MJ value. Thermal Power Plants suffer a 20% loss due to inefficiency. To calculate how long one fuel unit will last, multiply its MJ energy by 80% (or 0.8), then divide it by the 2.16MW that the generator produces per second. The resulting number will be how long one unit of that fuel will last.

Example 1: Coal has an energy density of 2.7MJ. Take away the efficiency loss (2.7 * 0.8) and you are left with 2.16MJ. Divide that by the thermal generator's max production (2.16MJ / 2.16MW) and you get that one piece of coal will burn for one second at full use.
Example 2: Hydrogen Fuel Rods have an energy density of 40MJ. Take away the efficiency loss (40MJ * 0.8) and you are left with 32MJ. Divide that by the thermal generator's max production (32MJ / 2.16MW) and you get that one Fuel Rod will burn for 14.8 seconds at full use.

Fuel burn times at 100% load
Fuel	Energy	80% in TPS	Burn time
Plants	500 KJ	400 KJ	0.185 s / 27 every 5 s / 324 per min
Log	1.5 MJ	1.2 MJ	0.555 s / 9 every 5 s / 108 per min
Coal	2.7 MJ	2.16 MJ	1.000 s / 1 every 1 s / 60 per min
Combustible Unit	9.72 MJ	7,776 MJ	3,6 s / 5 every 18 s / 16,67 per min
Energetic Graphite	6.75 MJ	5.4 MJ	2.500 s / 2 every 5 s / 24 per min
Crude Oil	4.05 MJ	3.24 MJ	1.500 s / 2 every 3 s / 40 per min
Refined Oil	4.5 MJ	3.6 MJ	1.667 s / 3 every 5 s / 36 per min
Hydrogen & Deuterium	9 MJ	7.2 MJ	3.333 s / 3 every 10 s / 18 per min
Fire Ice	4.8 MJ	3.84 MJ	1.777 s / 9 every 16 s / 33.75 per min
Hydrogen Fuel Rod	54 MJ	43.2 MJ	20.00 s / 1 every 20 s / 3 per min

Note that fuel is consumed at the rate of power draw. Thermal Power Plants will burn fuel at the maximum burn time (listed above) when the Satisfaction is below 100%, and fuel will be consumed at a slower burn time when the Satisfaction is at a constant 100%.

Fuel Production Costs

Since fuel production has its own energy cost, dedicated power production should take into account whether denser crafted fuels are a net gain over the components to make them.
Example 1: Coal has an energy density of 2.7MJ. Coal can be smelted into Energetic Graphite at a 2:1 ratio, which has an energy density of 6.3MJ, 16% more energy. However, smelting Energetic Graphite requires 720 kJ, and the sorters to access the smelter add ~36 kJ. This leaves a mere 5.6kJ over coal when processed, while increasing the overhead usage, thereby requiring more thermal generators for the same available power.

Chaining

Thermal Power Plants can be chained together by placing them next to each other and using a sorter to move fuel from one Plant to the next. Using chaining can help minimize the number of belts and the total ground space needed for a generator farm.

Mixed Fuel Types

A single Thermal Power Plant can take and use different types of fuel. The power output will remain constant (up to 2.16MW), but the burn time of the fuel will vary depending on its energy content. Note that when Thermal Power Plants are chained, only the fuel type picked up by the first one in the chain can be passed along to others in the chain; the first one acts as a filter.

Byproduct Disposal

Thermal Power Plants can also function as a waste disposal of sorts, by burning unwanted byproducts that are generated en masse (e.g. the Hydrogen created when refining Fire Ice into Graphene). These can be placed directly after a storage unit, so that the excess is only burned once the storage is completely filled. This prevents the byproduct from clogging facilities' outputs.