I'm doing some back-of-envelope calculations and I'm coming up with IC2 bio fuel potentially costing more EU power to manufacture than it produces in generators. What am I missing?
A bio fuel can produces 26k EU. Making one involves starting with 24 saplings [or 48 cane/wheat], from which you make 6 plantballs [shaped crafting, no power]. The plantballs then need to be run through a Compressor [EU cost] to make compressed plant balls. Those get put into cells [crafting] to make bio cells, when in turn get run through an Extractor [a second EU cost] to make biofuel cells. The biofuel cells then need to be run through a Canning Machine [a third EU cost] to produce the filled bio fuel can.
I haven't put it on the bench to measure the EU cost of each of the power-consuming steps, but the gross yield at the end is ~ 1083 EU/sapling, or 542 EU/cane. With that kind of return there's basically no point in attempting biofuel; the power yield for farming wood, turning it into charcoal, and burning that is what, an order of magnitude higher?
This just feels off. What am I missing?