power plants

[pickle]

generally i go all out to get the hoover dam to negate my power plant woes, prebuild, sgl, lie, cheat and steal.
but in my latest game not a single river on my island, only a couple of lakes. so I build coal plants.
now the question is, once you have the teck do you upgrade to solar for the reduced pollution or just have a team or two of workers cleaning up pollution? I didn't bother upgrading as i really needed the shields for other things. does anyone use solar plants?

 

[Spoonwood]

If going for space I do... but of corse I prioritize spaceship parts.

 

[timerover51]

I avoid coal plants if at all possible because of the number of workers needed to clean up pollution in the standard game. It generally takes me 6 workers per stack to do a fast clean-up, which is a waste in my view. I go to either Hoover's or solar as soon as I can get it in a unmodified game.

 

[vmxa]

It depends on what is going on. Do I need shields here to make items, then a coal plant makes sense. Once you can replace it and can spare the production for the time it takes to build the new plant, then I do that.

Else I clean up after or I may not make the plant in the first place, if that town is not needed and will not get a factory.

 

[Sweetchuck]

The Hoover Dam is one thing I get ready for, in fact - I prebuild a palace or something in the right town so that I'm dropping the HD as soon as I research Electronics.

I don't build coal plants for this reason - waste of sheilds IMO, but I do build solar plants on my off-continent cities.

 

[darski]

I don't build coal plants at all and try to put the kaibosh on the governors who try to build them. There is enough pollution creating stuff I need or want without this one too and it just seems to be the worst of the lot when I don't yet have time to clean up the mess.

 

[Rodent]

I differ here, i build lots of coal plants, not because they are useful, because i like them

 

[del62]

i will coal plants in my three most productive cities, one must be on a river, then i wil use these cities for building adam smiths, scienific method and hoover dam if i can, using palace and womens suffrage as pre builds, once scientific is build get atomic thearte and electronics, finish hoover dam and i am ready to rip

and sell coal plants when hoover is built

 

[pickle]

but what if you have no rivers?
hoovers is not an option. so do you go without power plants until ecology or do you build coal plants?
and if you would build them will you upgrade them or build spaceship parts instead?

 

[Sweetchuck]

If you do the Hoover, you get hydro plants in ALL of your same-continent cities - regardless of their proximity to rivers.

 

[Snarkhunter]

If you do the Hoover, you get hydro plants in ALL of your same-continent cities - regardless of their proximity to rivers.

Yes, if you get Hoover you get a hydro in every town. But IIRC, if you don't have a river in any of your towns' radii, you can't build Hoover at all. I understand the poster to be asking this: if you can't build Hoover (because no town has a river), do you go with coal or wait for solar/nuke?

kk

 

[anaxagoras]

I understand the poster to be asking this: if you can't build Hoover (because no town has a river), do you go with coal or wait for solar/nuke?

That's what I understood, too, and if the Hoover Dam is not an option, then I would almost certainly build coal plants in the core. Coal plants are available much earlier than solar, and the added production in the interim will make up for the annoying pollution problem.

Unless you are so far in the lead that you can afford to ignore coal plants, of course. In that case, why are you asking?

 

[Sweetchuck]

I think the hoover needs any fresh water source in the towns 'radius' (and not just it's workable tiles - but the whole cultural radius).

And maybe I misunderstood the question also, but - not a single town of yours has a single drop of fresh water anywhere in it's radius during the time electronics is researched?

 

[rysingsun]

if i can't build hoovers then either i settle for coal plants or no plants at all. solar comes way too late. whether i build factories is dependent on how much longer i anticipate the game going.

 

[anaxagoras]

I think the hoover needs any fresh water source in the towns 'radius' (and not just it's workable tiles - but the whole cultural radius).

I thought it needed specifically a river in the fat cross of the building town. I did not think that a fresh water lake was sufficient, although I admit that I have never tested it. I am certain the water source must be within the fat cross, and not just the accessible cultural area.

Can anyone verify whether or not a lake is suficient?

 

[The Professor]

I know that the Civilopeidia says that you need a river in the city radius, but I wasn't sure if it was right or not, so I checked my current game. A town with a lake, but no river isn't given the option of building Hoover Dam.

 

[anaxagoras]

Unless you are so far in the lead that you can afford to ignore coal plants, of course. In that case, why are you asking?

Of course, that isn't what the OP asked at all. He asked if UPGRADING coal to solar made any sense.

The short answer: No, unless you just really hate having worker teams cleaning up pollution. If you are going to upgrade, go with nukes.

 

[Flak509]

Generally I avoid using them they pollute too much for their own good so unless im under intense pressure and need every shield i can generate, i dont use them, too much hassle

 

[Flak509]

Generally I avoid using them they pollute too much for their own good so unless im under intense pressure and need every shield i can generate, i dont use them, too much hassle