Solar Tower

Solar Tower
The ultimate in solar generation technology. In ideal conditions this can generate over 24W of power.
Category	wire
Rarity	common
Price	600
Colony tags	science
ID	fu_solararrayadv

Unlocked by Peerless Solar Cells (Electronics tree).

Solar Tower is an improved Solar Array.

Mechanics

Maximum power: 24W on normal planets (up to 48W is possible in highly unusual conditions).

While the Solar Tower is in the world, it checks light level (number between 0 and 1) and the environment and adjusts its output every 10 seconds based on the following criteria:

• Solar Tower doesn't produce any power during the night (even if the area seems well-lighted), when underground (where Survivor players can't beam up), when submerged (in liquid or gas) or if the light level is lower than 0.2.
• If the Solar Tower is on a ship, player station, or in an asteroid belt orbiting a star, it always produces 21W of power regardless of light or day/night cycle.
• On regular planets it produces between 6W and 48W of power: 6W if 0.21 <= light < 0.54, 12W if 0.55 <= light < 0.64, 18W if 0.65 <= light < 0.74, 24W if 0.75 <= light < 0.84, and (24 * (1 + light))W if light >= 0.85. Light levels higher than 1 are considered to be 1.

  Note: maximum light level for brightest planets (Garden, Eden, etc.) is 0.78 during the day, so 24W is the maximum. Very few planets have variants with 0.86 light (only 1 out of 6 Frozen Moon planets, 1 out of 9 Proto Worlds, etc.).

• Background walls behind the Solar Tower don't reduce the power directly, but they reduce the light level, and can bring it below the minimum 0.2.
• Artificial light (torches, etc.) doesn't provide power.

How to obtain

Power Station

2x Solar Array 10x Zerchesium Bar 10x Quietus Bar 4x Molecular Nano-Fibre 4x Advanced Circuit

1x Solar Tower

Power sources
Low-tech (fuel)	Alternator Generator (=4W) · Combustion Generator (=12W) · Hydraulic Dynamo (5-21W, depending on fuel)
Low-tech (renewable)	Solar Panel (<=4W) · Solar Array (<=10W) · Solar Tower (<=24W) · Wind Turbine (<12W) · Weather Beacon (tool to check light/wind level)
Madness	Neuro-Psionic Generator (=60W) · Nocturn Array (<=10W, renewable)
Advanced	Fission Reactor (10-360W, depending on fuel, + has useful byproducts) · Small Fusion Reactor (15-360W, depending on fuel) · Large Fusion Reactor (35-600W, depending on fuel) · Quantum Reactor (60-620W, depending on fuel)
Precursor	Precursor Reactor (up to 1055W, noncraftable: can only be found)