Power-other

[GreenGoblin]

Hi all.

Firstly, I understand that official support for SRCW and SR2020 has ended so this post is more aimed at any modders who are interested. I have noticed that renewable energy a.k.a. 'power other' is inadequately represented in the games of this series and I think it can be improved in several ways:

1) It is necessary to differentiate between solar and wind power, since areas which get lots of sun are not always areas with lots of wind. To me the idea of wind and solar as one inseparable facility is like making coal and metal ore come from the same facility. Players should have the option of say 'wind farm' or 'solar energy park'.
2) In the game, renewable energy plants cost considerably more than other forms of power station. At the start of SRCW this makes sense. However, it would be more realistic if the price of these facilities was affected by the number being built across the world. For example, photo-voltaic panels have decreased in price massively since the 1990s due to a worldwide increase in production (especially in China). Thus a player who chose to invest in renewable plants could lower the global price making it more economic for the AI to do so, particularly as the price of petroleum increases.
3) Various technologies should be available for research which boost productivity from renewable energy. E.g. improvements in efficiency of wind turbines and chemistry of photo voltaic panels.
4) Offshore wind is not in the game. Wind farms at sea produce far more energy than those on land, but should also be more expensive to construct.

I do understand that this game is primarily a military simulation, so the economic side remains simple (in a good way!). But I do not think that the suggestions I have made would render the game unduly complicated for the player. Yeah, basically I thought this was something missing from the game that any interested modder could try adding in.

[provolone]

All of the things you mentioned (wind, solar) remain more expensive relative to other more common energy sources. Concerning photovoltaic power, remember that the larger solar installations are still thermal steam turbine plants. From the standpoint of cost & use of industrial goods it makes sense to group them together like this.

Of course tech has advanced over the years, this is represented in game via increased yield from the alternative power stations.

If anything, places with easily exploitable geothermal power like Iceland should be given a discount on building the alternative power plants.

[Zuikaku]

All of the things you mentioned (wind, solar) remain more expensive relative to other more common energy sources. Concerning photovoltaic power, remember that the larger solar installations are still thermal steam turbine plants. From the standpoint of cost & use of industrial goods it makes sense to group them together like this.

Of course tech has advanced over the years, this is represented in game via increased yield from the alternative power stations.

If anything, places with easily exploitable geothermal power like Iceland should be given a discount on building the alternative power plants.

Wind, solar, geothermal, photovoltaic plants - these are all different technologies with different build and rumming costs and deserve separate power plants instead of generic "other" plants....

[JustinWard]

Hi all.

Firstly, I understand that official support for SRCW and SR2020 has ended so this post is more aimed at any modders who are interested. I have noticed that renewable energy a.k.a. 'power other' is inadequately represented in the games of this series and I think it can be improved in several ways:

1) It is necessary to differentiate between solar panel and wind power, since areas which get lots of sun are not always areas with lots of wind. To me the idea of wind and solar as one inseparable facility is like making coal and metal ore come from the same facility. Players should have the option of say 'wind farm' or 'solar energy park'.
2) In the game, renewable energy plants cost considerably more than other forms of power station. At the start of SRCW this makes sense. However, it would be more realistic if the price of these facilities was affected by the number being built across the world. For example, photo-voltaic panels have decreased in price massively since the 1990s due to a worldwide increase in production (especially in China). Thus a player who chose to invest in renewable plants could lower the global price making it more economic for the AI to do so, particularly as the price of petroleum increases.
3) Various technologies should be available for research which boost productivity from renewable energy. E.g. improvements in efficiency of wind turbines and chemistry of photo voltaic panels.
4) Offshore wind is not in the game. Wind farms at sea produce far more energy than those on land, but should also be more expensive to construct.

I do understand that this game is primarily a military simulation, so the economic side remains simple (in a good way!). But I do not think that the suggestions I have made would render the game unduly complicated for the player. Yeah, basically I thought this was something missing from the game that any interested modder could try adding in.

We need to work on renewable sources of energy in detailed manner.. It is right time to make most use of these resources and decide which place is best suited for solar, wind, thermal etc.