Kinetic Generator
 | needs pictures and checking that this information is still correct in current versions. |
Water Kinetics are a powerful renewable option for power generation that need four things to work:
- Water
- Right Biome
- Rotors
- Space
The space requirements differ depending on rotor tier: For futureproofing, assume each kinetic just requires a 11x11 area (Maximum tier rotor space) Right, water: This is easy, you just need to cover every block inside the rotor radius with water, can be either flowing or source block.
Biome: Tricky part, two options: Either a river, or a ocean. If you want absolute maximum efficiency, make an ocean biome 200 blocks in every direction from the water kinetic block (Not really feasible), this average 1.4A of tier voltage. Realistically you'll make the block the kinetic gen is on into a river biome (Using witchery Brew of Shifting Seaons is great for this), this produces on average 1.2A of the tier voltage. Only the kinetic water gen block needs to be in the right biome.
Rotors: Iridium Rotors are what you are going for eventually: Unbreakable and most energy produced (these are 10x10) Until you get enough Iridum, Vibrant Alloy is the next best, and fairly cheap. They are 9x9, produce around 80% of the Iridium rotors, and last for around 300 hours (2 weeks, give or take) each.
Space: This is also a tricky one: Of course you need the space for rotor free, filled with water, a 11x11 box of water for maximum output (The power output scales linearily to % of rotor blocks covered, so just fill the whole thing)
Other kinetic gens also block the generators from working: Each kinetic gen (For iridium rotors) requires a 21x21x161 box without any other kinetic generators in them: This is HUGE depth-wise, so the most efficient way to have multiple generators is to stack them horizontally and vertically, every 11 blocks (The areas can overlap).
Power Generation
Kinetic Wind/Water Generators output KU, Kinetic Units. These are converted into EU by a Kinetic Generator, which is placed directly behind the Kinetic Wind/Water generator, at a ratio of 4:1, so 1 EU for every 4 KU. Higher tier Kinetic Wind/Water Generators from the Compact Kinetic Wind and Water Generators Mod quadruple the KU output for every tier above the default IC2 machines.
Example
An IC2 (HV-Tier) wind generator is used with an Energetic Alloy Rotor at 55.08 MCW wind strength, producing 2462 KU. The Kinetic Generator behind it outputs 615.5 EU/t
( 55.08 MCW * 44.75 (Rotor Efficiency) ) / 4 = 615.5 EU
Rotor Stats
Make an IC2 Wind Meter to see wind strength at your current position. Wind strengths of 30-70 seem common. Wind strength is highest at Y 160, gradually decreasing further up and down until there is no wind at Y 64 and Y 255[1].
| Rotor | Min | Max | Durability | Durability
in Days |
Size | Efficiency |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wood | 10 | 60 | 10 800 | 0.125 | 5x5 | 12.5 |
| Iron | 14 | 75 | 86 400 | 1 | 7x7 | 25 |
| Steel | 17 | 90 | 172 800 | 2 | 9x9 | 37.25 |
| Energetic Alloy | 12 | 80 | 512 000 | 5.925 | 9x9 | 44.75 |
| Carbon | 20 | 110 | 604 800 | 7 | 11x11 | 50 |
| Tungstensteel | 14 | 120 | 809 600 | 9.37 | 11x11 | 50 |
| Vibrant Alloy | 16 | 160 | 1 600 000 | 18.518 | 13x13 | 60 |
| Iridium (GT++) | 18 | 320 | Unbreakable | Forever | 15x15 | 75 |
Min and Max Rotor stats in MCW. Efficiency is KU generated per MCW wind strength. Days until break assumes unchanged durability consumption from vanilla IC2. Data from GTNH 2.1.2.1