need help setting up a power plant

    so ive been playing feed the beast with some friends and been doing a letsplay while im at it, and ive decided that my area is going to be an industrial complex. right now im powering my small area just fine with a handful of windmills and a generator, but because im going to have a massive complex with multiple factories to power i feel i should get my power plant done first. im not well established enough yet to invest into nuclear power and i dont know enough about it to feel safe without it being on an island a few dozen chunks away. i want to avoid solar power as i feel its over done and to simple, plus its expensive. im all for wind power but only to supplement my current power, and theres not enough lava nearby for geothermal power to be plausible.


    so with all this in mind ive decided to start making one using hundreds of generators because, generators are easy to make, cheap to make, and after trying out several designs it looks impressive with the size im going for. no of course i dont expect to fuel all these with coal or make a charcoal factory to fuel them, so since its FTB, i have forestry to work with and while i still need to figure out the ratios, if i use peat it lets me get more dirt, witch lets me make more bog earth and humus, the humus is used for farming where its used and turned to sand, which is then made into bog earth again. leaving me with an infinite supply of materials.


    so now that we have the concept fleshed out, here's where im stuck at. how much peat am i going to need to run this thing. whats the best set up for the generators and power storage, cables and dealing with energy loss, and whats the best voltage to go up to. (some complexes are going to be a ways from the plant) and whats the best i can put out in EU/t without using an area larger than around 30X30 ish. the set up also needs to account for the buildcraft pipes that will feed the generators.

    What stage are you? Early game, early midgame (have basic electric tools, set up forestry hax machines), midgame (have strong electric tools, nano armor), late midgame (have quantum armor, anything that requires <5 iridium plates from gregtech) or endgame (fusion reactor)?

    Quote from Epic Lulz

    What stage are you? Early game, early midgame (have basic electric tools, set up forestry hax machines), midgame (have strong electric tools, nano armor), late midgame (have quantum armor, anything that requires <5 iridium plates from gregtech) or endgame (fusion reactor)?

    im at about midgame right now. got some automated mining going under the complex location with TBMs so i dont tear apart the landscape with quarries. and i have a few non automated farms to supply me the resources i need to further automate, but im lacking the power supply to power everything, hence why im building a power-plant first. then a tin factory probably.


    for the plant im planning on having 4 walls of generators with 4 rows of about 20 generators each, all feeding into a few MFSUs then being converted into highvoltage to be transported in an organized layout and then be transformed into lower voltages at set points. basically im going to be setting up an electrical grid for my complex and maybe letting my friends tap in as well.


    i fully intend to build a nuclear power plant in the future though, but the plans i have require a huge power demand and i need to get them done to finally start advancing at a decent pace.

    Quote from Sinnaj63


    What kind of factory do you want?

    its not just one factory, its an entire complex. theres going to be several dozen factories feeding off this powerplant, hence the large scale. the reason why its not nuclear is due to lack of resources, lack of knowledge, i dont want the risk, and because its a letsplay, i need a good challenge and this is going to be impressive when its done.

    My advice is to do either one of the following:

    • Skip ahead until you're near endgame and start using the Fusion Reactor.
    • Carve out the Nether and swallow all it's lava for EU. Don't just look in the Overworld - the Nether's your friend.
    • Look up SpwnX's WindGen tutorial in the Tutorial Section, it's in the first thread by GregTech - look at post #6. That beast can generate tons of EU.
    • Biomass-Energy Generation. Continue later.
    • Okay, so you want to stick with your regular generator approach. Continue ahead.


    Section I - Peat-Methane Combustion
    Assuming default FTB settings (untouched) then peat will generate 4000 EU per piece.
    4000 EU in a Generator takes 4000 / 10 = 400 ticks = 20 s to deplete.
    Hence, you will need 1 peat supplied every 20 s.
    The development of peat from bog earth is a random time; however, using a MystCraft age with a significant amount of Accelerated symbols (will cause age unstability!) will boost the speed of peat production.
    To obtain Bog Earth, use Carpenters powered by water and an engine of your choice. (Possibly Electrical + sockets powered by Solar or Wind). This will require mulch. Mulch is the byproduct of moistening dirt and wheat to produce Mycelium. The Mycelium can also be used, in 2 ways:

    • Centrifuging (Industrial Centrifuge) of 64 Mycelium --> 16 mushrooms of each type + sand + clay. Mushrooms can be centrifuged 32 at a time to produce methane cells, which can be burnt in a generator to produce EU.
    • Using the Mycelium to power Mushroom Farms, to produce Mushrooms to produce methane cells. More streaky and luck-based.


    Section II - Apiarist's Upgrade
    Meddle around with bees a little and try to breed Diligent Bees. Read the spoiler to know the exact way.


    Centrifuge (Forestry Centrifuge) Silky Combs (Tropical) --> Honey Drops + Silky Propolis
    Centrifuge (Forestry Centrifuge) Silky Propolis --> Propolis + Silk Wisp (Can be used to make Apiarist's Clothes. When you have a full suit they negate all bee effects)
    Centrifuge (Forestry Centrifuge) Stringy Combs (Industrious Branch) --> Honey Drops + Propolis.


    Craft propolis, ash and peat together to get Bituminous Peat, which produces even MOAR EU.

    • Otherwise, you can use Biomass to produce EU. Dump all plant mass you have with a Fermenter, add Fertilizer (Apatite + Sand) or Compost (Dirt + Wheat) to produce Biomass and burn all that delicious Biomass in a bio generator into EU.

    thanks for the tips, i think ive got a good concept now.


    so first off, ill start with building 1/4 of the plant first, allowing me to get off my feet once again, this will be power by 4+ peat bogs beneath the building. from this point ill go to make a tin factory, following etho's concept he has used in his letsplay. from there, ill use a portion of that tin to go towards a biofuel plant, as i can use a wheat farm to convert humus into sand, which would power the peat bog, make more humus using compost, as well as convert the rest of the wheat into plant balls for conversion into biofuel.


    i will then likely further supplement my power supply with the wind gen farms mentioned, then when my power needs rise again, ill go set up my own 3-mile island :D :Nuke TNT:


    now for the cables and sending the power about, what the best way to do this. i want it in a power grid so i can easily tap into it when i build a new facility, but i also need it sent of long distances. i was thinking of using transformers to go up to high voltage and having several of them pump power from MFSUs into a single extreme voltage line, then bringing it back down to usable levels where im building. but thats where im stuck at. i can understand using HV cables from a reactor to transport it, then lowering it, but how would i bring it up for transport.


    and lastly, for the bee's do you know where i can find more info about it, especially with the more bees mod being in there. i havent been able to find anything about the more bees mod and i have no clue what 1/2 the stuff is for.

    If you have FTB, here's my suggestion:


    Thermal Expansion has the Magma Crucible, which lets you turn netherrack into lava at a decent rate. You can even power it with a magmatic engine to be self-sustaining. This can then be used to power your battery of geothermal generators.


    Now then, if you have some cattle and carrots, then start up a Feed Station cow breeding program. Cull the herd for leather to make books, because we're going Mystcraft Age Surfing! Make your notebook and your desk as well. Keep going through random descriptive book ages until you end up with one that has Crystals. Now we're ready to kick it into high gear.


    With Crystals, you can make Myst Portals. And you can send railcraft carts through them. Including the tank cart. Which can carry lava. And there's PLENTY of lava lakes in the Nether. So set up a pump hooked up to a liquid dispenser and some rails. It outputs into a large Iron Tank (5 cube ought to be enough) which then outputs to your geothermal battery. And by battery, we're talking like 20 or so, matching the output of even the most powerful iteration of Mk 1 Reactors.


    That ought to hold you until you are ready to gear-shift to Fusion Reactor.

    Another option, if you wish, and is quite related to your generator idea:
    Burning things in a steam boiler, then using the MJ produced from that boiler to produce magma from cobblestone in a crucible, then burning that magma in geothermals (especially if you use a computer-timer and a bunch of dispensers under pumps with lava buckets to make more EU, but that's nearly impossible without logistics pipes or insertion pipes, to my knowledge) will actually allow you to create significantly more EU then you would be able to in a normal generator. (Examples: 28,800 EU from a single piece of charcoal/peat, 324,000 EU from one can of methane)
    I should also mention that those numbers assume a maximum-sized, max-heat low-pressure boiler, which will take a few hours to get to, but isn't too hard if you only do one boiler at a time.


    Additionally, if you'd like to skip over all that forestry gobbledygook, I have recently designed a turtle program specifically designed to accomplish the same purpose as an arboretum, but in a far more efficent manner, and without the humus requirement. :P
    Although, I should mention that it currently requires misc peripheral's charging station, and requires a somewhat specific setup, but it's specifically designed that once it's plopped into the turtle as its startup program, it's completely, 100% autonomous.
    It also shouldn't be TOO hard to make it work with a charcoal chest, either.