OK, we can just discard all the intermediate energy transition like steam pipes, and driving shafts...
Maybe just modular generators?
Like "place a steam turbine next to the boiler and generator next to the turbine"?
An i don't suggest you to copy BTW, it is just one small part of this big system... Power plants will be more epic and industrial..
OK, let's develop the idea about modular generators.
1) Generator (or some different generators with different max output power)
The machine, that recieves mechanical energy and converts it to electrical energy.
2) Mechanical energy. You can transfer it by the driving shaft, like it was made in "better than wolves", but i don't think, that you need a special device to change direction. - strait shaft will be nice. Shaft can't be longer than 3 blocks.
You can measure the rotation speed of the shaft.
3) Mechanical energy can be generated by
- Steam turbines
- Windmills
- Watermills
- Internal Combustion Engine
4) Turbines. They are recieving hot steam, and generating mechanical energy. May be some different kind of turbines like T1, T2, T3, or just small, medium and big.
5) Steam. Important parameter - pressure (You can measure it in GIBBL!!!) You can transfer steam with the pipes, and they have some pressure loss. Each turbine "eats" some pressure, but you still can use it, if pressure is high enough to spin the turbine. After it, you should cool steam down in the cooler and condence it into water, and return it to the system with the pipes.
6) Boilers. They can boil the water ^___^
- Coal boiler
- Fuel boiler
- Reactor...
Well, we need a new algorythm for the reactor... It should have steam generators (like an element) heated by the uranium cells.
And we will have
T1 - Windmills/Watermills
T2 - Maybe ICE?
T3 - Power plants with steam turbines and boilers
T4 - Nuclear power plant
About solar panels... Well, they are nice, but their price should be rebalanced, because otherwise they will ruin all the system...
//And I'm sorry again... it is my horrible English....
OK, not 5x3 grid, 4x3 or 3x3 grids are requiring cable painting too...
And yes, colored machines are gonna be SO AWESOME!
I'll paint my machines by the Rainbow Dash colors!
The idea does make sense.
I would probably prefer "machines connect to black cables only", it's easier to implement.
No-no-no-no-no-no-no!
This is bad!
Now you can create a sweet vertical machine array 3x5 with the copper cables, BUT you need to color the cables to avoid big grid of cables. So, machines should be connected with the colored cable in this case!
Aeyup, it makes the start slower, BUT! Now we have the cheap single-use batteries - you only need some redstone, coal dust (hmmm... need macerator... but you can create first heap of coal dust using some redstone), and it is possible to use machines without a generator for the first time.
About the windmills and watermills - they can spin the electric generator without any turbines.
For example, coal power plant:
Boiler machine (coal powered) -> steam turbine -> electric generator
For windmill:
Windmill -> electric generator
And, what about advanced fuel-based machine? Or not advanced, just the mobile one - internal combustion engine!
ICE -> electric generator
And it is possible to create mobile generator (which you can easy dismount and move it to the new place), it will be very useful with the miner!
Do you like the idea of modular generators?
And have another idea.
Why are we using just simple FURNACE as generator? AFAIK, real power plants are more complicated. They are using fuel, or another heat source to boil the water, and turn it into steam. This steam spins a steam turbine which drives an electrical generator. But we can just burn fuel in the furnace and obtain energy. Maaaybe we should use more complicated system?
And about solars... Solar generator is very different from usual generator - no turbines, no water boilers and so on. An we are making them from usual "fuel" generator.
I think, it will be nice, if generator cycle will be completely redone.
I suggest different modules
1) Generator - it is the energy-producing machine, converts mechanical energy into electrical.
2) Turbines (for heat-based systems) they can recieve thermal energy, and drive the generator.
3) Different... i dont know... steam generators. They can use geothermal energy, fuel, nuclear power and spin the turbines.
And solar collector should be a different type of energy-produsing devices.
but, if this idea will be implemented, we'll need new reactor system. I suggest steam elements. They will recieve heat from the uranium cells and produce steam, which will be used in turbines. More heat recieved - more steam produced.
Now there are no scrapboxes, and you can't craft Mass Fabricator, so, that scrap is useless.
And yes. Miner is for the resources, quarry is for the cobblestone/sand and so on.
It depends on the scanner. With the OD scanner miner mines 5x5 area, and with the OV scanner - 9x9. It is SO AWESOME! Yaaay!
How does the miner compare/differ from the quarry in BC? Is it just like the BC mining well?
I think, it is better than quarry, unless you need a lot of cobblestone... Miner can mine (lol) all goods from the 9x9 area, and it does it much faster than quarry. It is energy-hungry, but it doesn't require 11 diamonds...
I actually prefer withdrawing pipes, then digging 1 block down next to the miner, put 2 cobble into the big hole and then move the miner as usual
Yes, but now i have TONS of cobblestone, and i have no idea, what i should do with it... So, filling those wells is the usage ^__^
Well, may be it isn't a smart idea, but I'm too lazy to dig special caves for the miners.
About cobblestone, I'm usually using it to extract pipes, because I don't like leaving the loooong wells in the ground.
By the way, thank you for the response ~_^
I like the new miner, but there are some problems with it.
1) Sometimes it is difficult to find out pipe depth and so on. Old miner had an information bar, which was very useful (fo example, you can determine when the pipe has reached the lava)
2) Can you let miner take the items from the chest? For example, if there are some pipes in the chest, first, miner will use that pipes, and after that - pipes from pipe slot. Same with the cobblestone and so on. It may be useful when you mine from the elevation about 80-90.
Oh, i am sorry, but can i ask one more question? I can't see information about this bug in the "known bugs" thread, so will it be fixed in 1.0?
*sad*
I thought i can use laser as the main minig tool, but with the block loss it is not a good idea...
And what about block loss? I've tested it, and low-focus and mining modes are losing blocks too...
Nooo, please! I really hate this... Wrench is the only tool for removing machines, and it is awful, when you trying to move som solar panels (for example - from your temporary shelter to the new permament power plant) And what about miner? You cannot move it without moving a set of transformers...
Don't forget that laser has a chance of block disappearing (Whith other words it hasn't 100% drop rate).
Quote from WikiAll blocks destroyed by the Laser are dropped, with the exception of non-drop blocks like Glass or Leaves.
Is it a mistake?
Is nanosaber useful in peaceful mode?
But insulation cutter has a special effect on left-click, so i think it is possible.
And yes, i like this idea.
OK, thank you for the explanation. 
