Power Storage

Power Storage
Connects to a power grid to store excess power produced. The stored power can be harnessed if power grid consumption exceeds production. Storage Capacity: 100 MWh (100 MW for 1 hour) Maximum Charge Rate: 100 MW Maximum Discharge Rate: Unlimited
Unlocked by	Tier 4 - Expanded Power Infrastructure
Class name	Desc_PowerStorageMk1_C
Dimensions
Width	6 m
Length	6 m
Height	12 m
Area	36 m2
Ingre­dients
5 ×  Encased Industrial Beam
10 ×  Modular Frame
100 ×  Wire

The Power Storage is a mid-game building used for buffering electrical energy. Each can store up to 100 MWh, or 100 MW for 1 hour. As it allows 2 power connections, multiple Power Storages can be daisy-chained to store large amounts of energy.

Usage

When connected to a power grid that is supplied by generators other than Biomass Burners, it will charge using the excess generated power, up to a rate of 100 MW each. Therefore, it will take at least an hour in real-time to fully charge an empty Power Storage, or longer if the spare power is less than to satisfy all Power Storages on the grid (Power Storages that are not fully charged will split the spare power, reducing their charge rate to the available spare power divided by the number of partially charged Power Storages). Charging Power Storage does not add to the grid power consumption or max consumption figures, nor does it diminish capacity since it will slow or stop charging if there are other demands for the available power.

As long as there is stored charge in the Power Storage and there is a power shortage (consumption exceeding production), all Power Storages will discharge to satisfy the difference, powering up instantly. There is no limit on the discharge rate; it will exactly match the power deficiency. The Power Storage will emit a warning similar to a power grid trip when any Power Storage discharges below 80% capacity. This allows the pioneer to quickly react to restore the power situation, whether to increase power production or to install a Power Switch. Once all the stored energy has been discharged and the power is still insufficient, the power grid will trip.

There are two meters in the Power Storage interface. The left meter is the individual Power Storage charge level. The right meter is the collective charge level of all Power Storage attached to the grid.

Connecting additional Power Storages will not impact the individual charge level of other Power Storages, but will reduce the charge level of the system on the right meter. This will also increase the time remaining until full charge. Power Storages cannot charge each other.

Charge indicator

Power Storage lacks an Indicator Light; instead, a charge indicator bar is displayed on the structure, in the power graph and in the Power Storage UI, showing how much energy is stored. It is colored as follows:

• Blue – Charging
• Orange – Discharging (the upper part of the building rises and begins to spin)
• Grey – Idle (either full capacity or there is no power to charge with nor discharge)

The power graph and Power Storage UI displays time to fully charge/discharge at the current power input/drain.

Buffering fluctuating power

Power Storages can be used to buffer fluctuating power generation and consumption. These fluctuations can be divided into avoidable and unavoidable:

• Avoidable fluctuations are caused by factories running below 100% efficiency, and thus stalling due to resource starvation or backup
• Unavoidable fluctuations are caused by buildings that either aren't always in operation at all times, or by buildings that only operate with fluctuating power:
  • Buildings which aren't always in operation include Truck Stations, Freight Platforms, Electric Locomotives, etc. Their power draw is chaotic and cannot be reliably nullified.
  • Buildings that operate with fluctuating power are Geothermal Generators (generation) and Particle Accelerators, Converters and Quantum Encoders (consumption).
    Their fluctuations can be reliably nullified by building enough Power Storages to bridge the difference between their average and maximum power. In this case, Power Storages aren't expected to charge fully, only to provide a temporary buffer for each cycle.

The amount of Power Storages can be calculated as
$PowerStorages=\frac{Maximumpower-Averagepower}{100}$

Average power is calculated by averaging maximum and minimum power. 100 is the maximum discharge rate of a Power Storage. In case a decimal amount of Power Storages is required, round up. See the below example for buffering a Geothermal Generator:

Power Storages to buffer a Geothermal Generator

Geyser	Power	Average power	Difference between average and max	Power Storages required
Impure	50–150 MW	100 MW	50 MW	0.5
Normal	100–300 MW	200 MW	100 MW	1
Pure	200–600 MW	400 MW	200 MW	2

As 0.5 Power Storages are required to buffer an impure Geothermal Generator, one Power Storage can buffer two impure Geothermal Generators.

Trivia

• The energy of fuels is stored in MJ. 100 MWh equals to 360,000 MJ, meaning one Power Storage can store the following amount of energy:
  • 24,000  Leaves
  • 2,000  Biomass
  • 1,200  Coal
  • 800  Solid Biofuel
  • 480 m³  Fuel
  • 180 m³  Turbofuel
  • 100 m³  Rocket Fuel
  • 72 m³  Ionized Fuel
  • 60  Batteries
  • 2.4  Ficsonium Fuel Rods
  • 0.48  Uranium Fuel Rods
  • 0.24  Plutonium Fuel Rods

History

• Patch 1.0: Changed 5 Stator cost to 5 Encased Industrial Beam
• Patch 0.4.0.0: Introduced