Thermal Generator

The Thermal Generator is a 2×2 power-producing building that generates constant electricity when placed over geothermal tiles. It consumes no resources or liquids after construction and provides steady output so long as it remains intact and connected to the grid. The generator must be placed directly above specific geothermal terrain types; its effective output depends on which geothermal tile(s) lie beneath it.

Thermal Generators are relatively cheap and power-dense among 2×2 generators. Their build cost is similar to that of the Steam Generator with an additional requirement of 40 Metaglass, which is generally easy to meet because Metaglass can be mass-produced with Kilns. Because they produce uninterrupted power without ongoing inputs, they serve well as autonomous backup or remote power sources and pair effectively with resource-dependent large generators (for example, Thorium Reactors or Differential Generators) to supply essential infrastructure even when those generators are idle or being maintained.

Output scales with the geothermal tile type under each generator tile. Per-tile and full-generator rates are:

• Hot Rock: 54 power/sec per tile, 216 power/sec maximum for a full 2×2 coverage.
• Magma Rock: 81 power/sec per tile, 324 power/sec maximum.
• Slag: 91.8 power/sec per tile, 367.2 power/sec maximum.

Because the Thermal Generator’s output depends on terrain, maps without geothermal activity cannot use them. Even when geothermal tiles exist, they are frequently distant from the starting area or lack nearby resource deposits, forcing long, exposed power transmission lines back to base. Despite this limitation, the Thermal Generator’s constant, input-free power output makes it ideal for remote automation tasks that must run continuously, such as Laser or Airblast Drills, Water Extractors, Pyratite Mixers, and Cryofluid Mixers.

Practical considerations and common deployment strategies:

• Place Thermal Generators only over valid geothermal tiles to get the corresponding per-tile output; partial coverage reduces total power accordingly.
• Use multiple generators tiled over uniform geothermal ground to approach the listed maximums; a generator covering mixed tiles will produce the sum of the per-tile contributions.
• Because they are single-purpose producers that require no fuel, isolate critical loads behind Battery Diodes to prevent broader grid disturbances from affecting sensitive systems and to prioritize charging/storage behavior.
• Protect remote Thermal Generator arrays and their transmission lines with defenses or redundancy since they are often placed far from the main base and are vulnerable to enemy raids.
• Consider Thermal Generators as reliable supplemental power rather than the sole backbone if geothermal resources are limited or difficult to reach.

In real-world terms, thermoelectric devices exploit the Seebeck effect to convert temperature differences into electricity; the Thermal Generator reflects this concept in-game. The Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generator (RTG) is a related in-game counterpart that shares the same idea of producing electricity from heat without ongoing inputs.