Coal power setup

Coal power (Tier 3) is the first power source that runs without refuelling. The maths is simple and the same everywhere; the only real decision is where – and the answer is always "at the water".

The numbers

	Value
Coal-Powered Generator	75 MW, burns 15 coal/min (300 MJ each, 4 s), needs 45 m³ water/min
Water Extractor	120 m³/min, 20 MW, 10 m head lift, needs ≥ 9 m deep water
Miner Mk.1 on coal	30 / 60 / 120 per min (impure / normal / pure); Mk.2: 60 / 120 / 240
Pipeline Mk.1 / Mk.2	300 / 600 m³/min = 6.67 / 13.3 generators per pipe
Pump Mk.1 / Mk.2	+20 m / +50 m head lift (does not add up across junctions)
Cost per generator	20 Reinforced Iron Plate, 10 Rotor, 30 Cable

Generators = coal ÷ 15 · Extractors = generators × 45 ÷ 120 = generators ÷ 2.67 · Mk.1 pipes = generators ÷ 6.67. Generators clock linearly (200 % = 150 MW, 30 coal, 90 m³), so overclocking them is never a loss – only the shards are.

Standard blocks

The classic block – 8 generators, 3 extractors, 120 coal, 600 MW – is what every guide builds first. Build it as two rows of four with the coal belt down the middle (a splitter manifold; the last generators fill up after a few minutes), and feed the water pipe from more than one point so no Mk.1 segment has to carry the full 360 m³/min (or use 4 extractors at 75 %). Reserve about one generator for the plant itself: 3 extractors = 60 MW plus the miner. Prime it with ~100 hand-mined coal and three temporary Biomass Burners so the extractors can start.

Water goes downhill for free. Extractors push 10 m; a Mk.1 pump adds 20 m. Put generators at or below the water level, or use a lake that lies above your factory: the level of every lake is in the world tables.

Where to build it – per start location

Coordinates in game metres (X east, Y south); node ids are the map's ids. All four seeded plants use Miner Mk.1 on every node of the cluster; each is a multiple of the 8-generator block.

Grass Fields

Four normal coal nodes on the shore of the northern Grass Fields lake, about 1 km north-west of the spawn iron. The nodes sit at −36 m, the lake at −27 m – place the extractors in the lake and the generators on the shore, no pumps.

240 coal/min → 16 generators, 6 extractors, 1 200 MW – start with one 8-generator block on two nodes and add the second later. The two pure coal nodes of the biome (west mesa at (−610, 962), +212 m; south-east island at (−661, 2969)) have no usable water next to them; belt their coal here instead.

Factory: Grass Fields – Coal power 1 200 MW · map

Rocky Desert

Four normal coal nodes at the Rocky Desert lake, 800 m east of the spawn iron, right at sea level (nodes −14 to −16 m, lake −17.7 m). The most-recommended first coal spot of the map: water, coal and a flat shore in one place.

240 coal/min → 16 generators, 6 extractors, 1 200 MW. Expansion: three pure coal nodes on the plateau at (−1136, −505), (−1132, −441), (−1076, −524) (+162 m, 360 coal/min with Mk.1) – belt the coal down, the water stays at the lake.

Factory: Rocky Desert – Coal power 1 200 MW · map

Northern Forest

Three pure and one normal coal node beside the Lake Forest lake (97 m), 800 m south-east of the pure-iron cluster and roughly at its altitude. Alpha spitters guard the shore – clear them first.

420 coal/min → 28 generators, 11 extractors, 2 100 MW – more than a starter needs, so begin with one pure node (8 generators, 3 extractors, needs a Mk.2 belt or two Mk.1 belts) and grow. Two Mk.1 water lines or one Mk.2 line per 13 generators.

Factory: Northern Forest – Coal power 2 100 MW · map

Dune Desert

Three normal coal nodes at the oasis lakes (55 m) in the east of the biome, 800 m from the central iron; the nodes lie at 52–59 m, level with the water.

180 coal/min → 12 generators, 5 extractors, 900 MW (one 8-block plus 4). Next steps: the pure + normal pair on the east coast at (4045, −1168) / (4048, −1140) with unlimited sea water, and the two impure nodes at the northern lake (3654, −801) / (3689, −762).

Factory: Dune Desert – Coal power 900 MW · map

How the planner models it

The planner has no generator building, so the seeded coal factories are manual graphs: the coal node(s) from the map and one resource node per Water Extractor feed two output nodes that carry the generators' demand (15 coal and 45 m³ water per generator). The factory name states the generator count and MW; the summary counts the miners and extractors and their consumption, not the generated power. Fork the world and change the output amounts to size your own plant.