Solar Panel

The Solar Panel is a basic, cost-efficient power generator that produces electrical power from ambient light. It appears as a stationary block placed on the map and supplies continuously when exposed to daylight; on custom maps without dynamic lighting it provides a constant output. Solar Panels serve as a renewable, maintenance-free source of power and are commonly used to supply low-to-medium demand loads or to supplement larger generation setups.

The Solar Panel’s output depends on the light level for the current sector in campaign mode; ambient light is affected by the sector’s location and by weather events. On maps with no dynamic light or weather, the Solar Panel generates a fixed 7.2 power units per second. The block’s current build cost uses 8 Silicon, and its build time is 0.22 seconds after recent balance changes that increased its base output and reduced cost and build time.

Solar Panels are most effective when combined with energy storage or other generation to cover gaps in production. They produce no resource consumption after construction, so they can be left unattended and will resume contributing immediately after rebuilds.

• Use Solar Panels plus a battery to run intermittent loads such as Illuminators; this combination delivers cheap, constant lighting without ongoing fuel costs. Batteries are essential in campaign sectors or maps with weather so that storm- or night-time shortfalls do not leave systems without power.
• Solar Panels can act as a reliable starter power source for generator rigs that require an initial input before becoming self-sustaining (for example, jump-starting a Steam Generator that needs a Water Extractor or a Differential Generator that requires a Cryofluid Mixer). Unlike combustion-based starters, Solar Panels consume no fuel and will continue to provide startup energy after rebuilds. Note that Thorium Reactors can self-start briefly without coolant and therefore do not require an external jump-start.
• Solar Panels are useful for building logic systems that depend on the day/night cycle because their output scales with ambient light; they can serve as an analog or threshold input for time-based automation when wired to logic processors.
• On custom or static-light maps, treat each Solar Panel as a predictable 7.2 PU/s generator when planning capacity; in campaign play, account for sector position and weather reducing effective output and size battery backups accordingly.

Solar Panels are best deployed in arrays to meet larger power requirements and placed where they receive unobstructed daylight. They are inexpensive to build and quick to replace, making them an ideal, low-risk component of early and mid-game power grids.