What do power plants really do?

[UltraMind]

There seems to be conflict in the rules for citys' power plants. The civilopedia claims that a hydro plant replaces any other plant in the city, which doesn't make sense, because I've had them in cities that also have a coal or solar plant. This is probably related to building the Hoover Dam.
So what should I be doing? Now that I have the Dam? (and just one continent) Should I just forget about all other plants? The solar plant doesn't claim any better benefits. Both +50% factory output, and produce no polution. Or can I just build plants on plants like I did in the other Civs? Is this even a bug in the game, or does the 'pedia just need better wording?

 

[Black Waltz]

The only Power Plant that is woth upgrading too is Nuclear, as they give you a boost of 150% rather then 50%. The Hydro Plant does replace any other plant in the city, as does anyother Plant. However, I do not know whether you have to sell the other that once existed or it automaticly razes.

 

[Grey Fox]

You can only have one Power Plant. If you have two in your city, try to sell the one that is obsolete.

These are in the order you can build them.

Coal Plant: 50% Extra Shields, and pollution.

Hydro Plant: 50% Extra Shields, and NO pollution. Must be built in a city with a river within it's radius.

Solar Plant: 50% Extra Shields, and NO pollution.

Nuclear Power Plant: 150% Extra Shields, and NO pollution. The City must have fresh water in it's radius, (Lakes and Rivers). There is a small risk of the Power Plant to meltdown... but it has never happened to me.

Hope this clear things out for everyone having problems with power plants!

 

[Beard Rinker]

I seem to recall that nuclear plants not only have no pollution but they also reduce factory pollution. I read something like this in the Civilization help files but have not verified this in game play.

 

[chiefpaco]

I was trying to look for more strategic information about which plants ppl usually try but searching isn't working for me well today. I am just writing out thoughts here and assuming you don't build the Hoover Dam which would make your plant choice very easy.

In my last game, I kept thinking, I'll wait for the next better power plant to build, but all the while suffering slower production. After I lost, I was kicking myself for not building more, especially since the production rates of my cities were pretty mediocre and I never got to the point where I could crank out tanks every couple or turns or so from my nation's core. However, the 2 cities that had a plant were awesome!

Here's the building costs from the editor v1.17, which I think is a big factor, along with the production boost, as posted (thx Grey Fox):
Coal 16
Hydro 24
Nuclear 24
Solar 32 (eeks, looks so expensive, especially if you don't have a plant already!)

I would think the speed of your tech advances is a big key. If it's going to be a long wait until the next plant comes avail...

One thing I was thinking was that even if you build a coal plant or hydro & want the nuclear plant later, you can build the nuclear plant faster with another plant already in the city.

So, which do you build?

 

[Grey Fox]

I usually build the Coal Plant in some cities, and then I usually get the Hoover Dam, and then I build the Nuclear Plant in every city possible. (Usually the Core cities...)


EDIT: I usually don't use the word "usually" so often when I post.

 

[Dirk Aurel]

Originally posted by Beard Rinker
I seem to recall that nuclear plants not only have no pollution but they also reduce factory pollution. I read something like this in the Civilization help files but have not verified this in game play.

Yes,it says so in the Civilopedia,but funny enough I couldn´t find the building having a mark at reducing pollution in the editor...

 

[lawren8]

Originally posted by Grey Fox
There is a small risk of the Power Plant to meltdown... but it has never happened to me.

Hope this clear things out for everyone having problems with power plants!

Had it happen to me once. Only thing is does is generate pollution in many of the surrounding tiles. At that stage of the game, I had lots of idle workers, so 2 turns later I was completely back online.

 

[Grey Fox]

Originally posted by lawren8


Had it happen to me once. Only thing is does is generate pollution in many of the surrounding tiles. At that stage of the game, I had lots of idle workers, so 2 turns later I was completely back online.

Does every tile become desert like after an Atom Bomb?

 

[Flopsy]

On the subject of power plants, I personally use the editor to increase the boost from the solar plant to +100%.

My reasoning behind this is that it falls later in the tech tree than coal and hydro plants and should therefore represent an improvement over them, but not as much as the nuclear plants, which have their own drawbacks to offset the +150%.

Just my .02 Gold worth.

 

[Beamup]

The Solar plant does have an advantage - you can build it anywhere, making it better than Hydro, and it produces no pollution, making it better than Coal. What I usually do with my plants is this:

1. Upon discovery of Industrialization, as soon as a city finishes its factory, it builds a coal plant.
2. At this point I generally beeline for Electronics.
3. Build Hoover ASAP, selling all my Coal plants on the continent the turn before it completes.
4. Any cities not on the same continent as Hoover, but with water access, build Hydro upon the discovery of Electronics. If I lose Hoover, all cities are of course not on the same continent. Again, I sell the Coal plant the turn before the Hydro plant finishes.
5. Once I get Environmentalism, any city without water access builds a Solar plant. Naturally the Coal plant gets sold the turn before the Solar finishes.
6. Upon the discovery of Nuclear Power, every city with water access builds a Nuclear plant. They sell their Hydro plants the turn before the Nuclear finishes, unless the plant is due to Hoover.

So, at each stage, every city has the best available plant. This isn't cheap, but each upgrade is very worthwhile - getting away from Coal is a major pollution cut, and going to Nuclear is a major production increase that pays for itself within a few turns.

[Edit: I meant Nuclear Power, not Fission...]