Initially, a stone furnace is sufficient to smelt items. It works
with hoppers, so some basic automation is possible.
A tiered guide to the various power sources available, including IC2. Items are ordered by progression and not by capability; so generators that require higher-tier parts to make are ranked later.
On-Demand generators will only consume input resources if there is a demand for electricity on the network. This means these generators can be left "on" all the time. Generators without this property will need automation to avoid wasting resources.
Renewable generators require no input resource. Sounds great! They are a mid-game item, and require considerable resources to produce the generator.
Initially, a stone furnace is sufficient to smelt items. It works
with hoppers, so some basic automation is possible.
The IC2 Iron Furnace is an upgrade of the stone furnace in every way;
more fuel efficient and faster processing. Requires iron plates.
With bronze, GregTech boilers can be made. These produce steam that can be consumed by steam machines (and their high pressure versions), or by steam turbines to produce EU.
Charcoal, coal, and their dust versions produce 160 energy. Coal coke produces 640, and lignite produces 40. While lignite is much less efficient, it is much more abundant in ore generation.
| Icon | Name | Can Automate? | Charcoal/Minute | Steam/sec | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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Small Coal Boiler | No | 1/6 | 120 mb | Too many of these becomes too much to micromanage. |
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Simple Solar Boiler | No | 0 | 120 mb | Efficiency is coded to drop after a few in-game days, and must be wrenched and replaced to reset efficiency. Requires Silver Plates. |
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High Pressure Coal Boiler | No | ??? | 600 mb | Efficiency drops as more ash is generated in the by-product slot. Clearing out the slot resets efficiency. Requires Steel. |
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High Pressure Lava Boiler | No | 300 mb Lava | 600 mb | Efficiency drops as more ash is generated in the by-product slot. Clearing out the slot resets efficiency. Requires Steel. Lava may be piped in. Not a great power source unless you have a lot of lava for some reason. |
Prerequisite: A stable source of Steel, Tin, Copper, Basic Circuits.
| Icon | Name | Can Automate? | Input Rate | Output Rate | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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Large Bronze Boiler | Yes | 2 charcoal per sec | 32000 mb per sec | Input can be automated, and is compatible with the machine controller cover. |
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Basic Steam Turbine | Yes | 1600 mb/s Steam | 32 EU/t | 85% Efficient. On-Demand. |
Prerequisite: A stable source of Aluminium, Good Electronic Circuits.
LV generators can be grouped to produce 32 EU/t * 4 Amp into a transformer to produce 128 EU/t * 1 Amp. At a certain point the steam input piping becomes too complicated and switching to MV (or higher) producers makes more sense.
| Icon | Name | Can Automate? | Input Rate | Output Rate | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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Advanced Steam Turbine | Yes | 7040 mb/t Steam | 128 EU/t | 75% Efficient. On-Demand. |
Prerequisite: A stable source of Stainless Steel, Gold, Silicon, Advanced Circuits.
It requires 16 LV generators to produce 1 amp of HV, which is getting ridiculous. Time to upgrade!
HV allows you to build the molecular transformer, which can make Sunnarium. This rare item is needed for renewable energy sources. Sunnarium requires 10 MILLION EU to produce one piece.
| Icon | Name | Can Automate? | Input Rate | Output Rate | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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Large Steel Boiler | Yes | 1.5 charcoal per sec | 36000 mb per sec | Input can be automated, and is compatible with the machine controller cover. |
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Turbo Steam Turbine | Yes | 31515 mb/t Steam | 512 EU/t | 66% Efficient. On-Demand. |
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Large Steam Turbine | Yes | Multi-block. Input/Output depends on rotor size and material. Rotor and dynamo can be swapped later to upgrade "in-place". Requires IC2 Advanced Circuits. | ||
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LV Water Turbine | Yes | 8 EU/t | Renewable. Requires water blocks on four sides to generate power. | |
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MV Water Turbine | Yes | 64 EU/t | Renewable. Requires water blocks on four sides to generate power. | |
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HV Water Turbine | Yes | 512 EU/t | Renewable. Requires water blocks on four sides to generate power. |
With oil refining, you will start to have large quantities of combustable gasses and fluids. These are very effective power sources, as they are very dense. Some of these generators were craftable before petroleum, but without a stable source of fuel they aren't reliable.
| Icon | Name | Can Automate? | Input Rate | Output Rate | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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Basic Gas Turbine | Yes | 32 EU/t | 95% Efficient. Input rate depends on fuel (flammable gas). Makes a decent portable power source. On-Demand. | |
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Advanced Gas Turbine | Yes | 128 EU/t | 90% Efficient. Input rate depends on fuel (flammable gas). Makes a decent portable power source. On-Demand. | |
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Turbo Gas Turbine | Yes | 512 EU/t | 85% Efficient. Input rate depends on fuel (flammable gas). Makes a decent portable power source. On-Demand. | |
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Basic Combustion Generator | Yes | 32 EU/t | 95% Efficient. Input rate depends on fuel (flammable fluids). Makes a great portable power source. On-Demand. | |
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Advanced Combustion Generator | Yes | 128 EU/t | 90% Efficient. Input rate depends on fuel (flammable fluids). Makes a great portable power source. On-Demand. | |
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Turbo Combustion Generator | Yes | 512 EU/t | 85% Efficient. Input rate depends on fuel (flammable fluids). Makes a great portable power source. On-Demand. |
Prerequisite: A stable source of Titanium, Extreme Circuits
| Icon | Name | Can Automate? | Input Rate | Output Rate | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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Large Titanium Boiler | Yes | 1.3 charcoal per sec | 41600 mb per sec | Input can be automated, and is compatible with the machine controller cover. |
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EV Water Turbine | Yes | 4096 EU/t | Renewable. Requires water blocks on four sides to generate power. | |
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Large Gas Turbine | Yes | Multi-block. Input/Output depends on rotor size and material. Rotor and dynamo can be swapped later to upgrade "in-place". Requires Extreme Circuits and Titanium. | ||
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IC2 Nuclear Reactor | Yes | Uses IC2 power output rules. Power output is highly dependent on reactor chambers and layout. Fuel is Uranium, Thorium, or MOX. Requires Elite Circuits. Very long running, automation doesn't work with mixed fuel cell sizes. Bad layouts can cause meltdowns. | ||
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Naquadah Reactor Mark I | Yes | 2048 EU/t | 80% Efficient. On-demand. Requires Uranium 235. EV. | |
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IC2 Nuclear Reactor (Fluid Mode) | Yes | Outputs hot coolant instead of EU. Power output is highly dependent on reactor chambers and layout. Fuel is Uranium, Thorium, or MOX. Requires Elite Circuits. Very long running, automation doesn't work with mixed fuel cell sizes. Bad layouts can cause meltdowns. Hot coolant can be pumped to a Large Heat Exchanger to produce Steam/Superheated Steam. |
Prerequisite: A stable source of Tungstensteel, Elite Circuits
| Icon | Name | Can Automate? | Input Rate | Output Rate | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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Large Tungstensteel Boiler | Yes | 1.2 charcoal per sec | 48000 mb per sec | Input can be automated, and is compatible with the machine controller cover. |
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Large HP Steam Turbine | Yes | Multi-block. Input/Output depends on rotor size and material. Rotor and dynamo can be swapped later to upgrade "in-place". Requires Elite Circuits and Titanium. Will convert HP Steam to regular Steam, which can then be piped into regular steam turbines. | ||
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Naquadah Reactor Mark II | Yes | 8192 EU/t | 90% Efficient. On-demand. Requires Plutonium 241. IV. | |
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Plasma Generator Mark I | Yes | 2048 EU/t | 50% Efficient. On-demand. Requires Plutonium 241. Input rate is dependent on fuel. |
Prerequisite: A stable source of Chrome, Master Circuits
| Icon | Name | Can Automate? | Input Rate | Output Rate | Description |
|---|
Prerequisite: A stable source of Iridium, Ultimate Circuits
| Icon | Name | Can Automate? | Input Rate | Output Rate | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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Plasma Generator Mark II | Yes | 8192 EU/t | 60% Efficient. On-demand. Requires Europium (Fusion product). Input rate is dependent on fuel. ZPM. |
Prerequisite: A stable source of Osmium, Super Circuits
| Icon | Name | Can Automate? | Input Rate | Output Rate | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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Naquadah Reactor Mark III | Yes | 32768 EU/t | 100% Efficient! On-demand. Requires Enriched Naquadah. UV. | |
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Large Plasma Generator | Yes | Multi-block. Input/Output depends on rotor size and material. Rotor and dynamo can be swapped later to upgrade "in-place". Plasma is generated by a FUSION REACTOR! | ||
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Plasma Generator Mark III | Yes | 32768 EU/t | 70% Efficient. On-demand. Requires Americium (Fusion product). Input rate is dependent on fuel. UV. |
| Icon | Name | Can Automate? | Input Rate | Output Rate | Description |
|---|