What's your generator of choice?

[Syrchalis]

Mine are definitely wind turbines. The reason is that they are the cheapest to make, relatively reliable and all drawbacks can be worked around quite easily. I dislike solar panels because of eclipses, the research requirement and the higher cost. Thermal is great once you get it and if you have geysirs, but that's a big if and eventually your needs for power might be higher than the amount of geysirs you have.

Wind turbines have a few issues. The lockout area needs to be kept clear. Long term solution: Floors. At the start you definitely just put crops there. Also you can put solar panels there if you want to. High/low output being random is solved by batteries. If you have enough batteries to save all the energy from the moments they are running at full capacity you will generally never have an issue.

Combining all forms is probably the most reliable solution. Wind/solar will generally not fail at the same time, and even if you can reduce the drain on the batteries with thermal or fueled generators long enough for the wind to pick up or the eclipse to end.

Anyone using fueled generators? I generally never use them. I prefer to spend my components on wind turbines right away.

Also: Did human meat price get nerfed hard? I remember it being pretty high, but might have been a mod. Now it's 40% of normal meat.

[SpaceDorf]

I dislike the fueled generators as well .. to much hassle for to little power.

My prefered method is the Wind and Solar Combo .. two wind turbines, two solar panels and a few batteries.
Once I get Thermals for a steady income I use those as well.

But what I noticed is, that it is easier to build or move a fueled generator to a deep dril spot instead of building a connection to my grid.
Fueled is also the fastest and cheapest way to power. So when I am on a hot map and need refrigeration and ac fast I use a fueled generator.

[SurvivoroftheNoobs]

Turbines are the way to go. As mentioned they are cheaper than most and they work 100% with crops around them.

[Crow_T]

I rarely use fueled generators but in a recent small colony I had one to keep a base load in case of no wind or sun- I had to micromanage it to keep it from using too much wood though, but it still came in handy. Generally it's wind and solar, 2-3 panels per turbine.

[TheTycoon]

But what I noticed is, that it is easier to build or move a fueled generator to a deep dril spot instead of building a connection to my grid.

Instead of that, you can just re-install a battery (or two, or however many your miner's skill requires to mine the whole 3x3 area...) next to the deep drill. When the deep drill is no longer useful, just re-install the battery back where it can recharge.

[TheMeInTeam]

Turbines + solar + batteries + good layout.  If I had to pick the favorite generator, definitely wind.  It unlocks the fastest for tribal, has fewer gimpy events than most, and can have its primary downside mostly covered by a battery.  Solar is a nice supplement especially for indoor growing, and these two are enough as generators to cover power needs when set up well...enough that I'd much prefer to go for deep drilling, mortars, or even miniguns before bothering with geothermal.

At first I loved geothermal and it's a nice-to-have to pick up later for sure, but no longer my go-to.

Instead of that, you can just re-install a battery (or two, or however many your miner's skill requires to mine the whole 3x3 area...) next to the deep drill. When the deep drill is no longer useful, just re-install the battery back where it can recharge.

I recently discovered this myself.  A fully charged battery can actually deplete all 9 tiles with power to spare if you have two miners (one on day/night shift).  Then you can simply haul it back and grab the next battery.  This technique is also pretty handy for turrets if you want to contest a sapper breach.

[Dashthechinchilla]

On heavily forested maps I use fuled generators in place of solar. The abundance of easy trees makes it silly not to. I spend a bunch of time trying to clear them out and keep them claer, might as well use the logs. I keep a dedicated log pile nearby to make the work quick for my haulers.

[Canute]

It depend on biomes.
I realy like fueled generators, they have a fixed power output and you don't need batteries as buffer. No batteries no Zzzz events.
Not to speak about the less room need for them.
That they produce heat is a nice sideeffect for icebiomes.

But on Ice/desert biomes when you don't got much wood at beginning, a combo of 1 windturbine + 3 solar at the space the turbine area and 3 batteries for each of this combo row.

[TheMeInTeam]

Fueled generators cost the same as windmills and require more labor to maintain the power.  Zzzzt is easy enough to block with good design and doesn't need hands on the power generation as often (all generators are susceptible to needing component repair I think, other than maybe ship reactor?).

[kubolek01]

I use all types, fueled is useful as backup power, nothing else.