Solar Panel

alaindustrial:solar_panel

GeneratorsLVImplementedtier-lvenergysolar

Summary

The Solar Panel is your first power source. Place it under the open sky, and during the day it slowly makes EU/FE — enough to run your first machine.

Mini-example: one panel on a roof → 1 EU/FE/t by day. A dozen panels fill a Battery Box in a couple of in-game days and keep your machines running into the night.

This is where the whole mod starts: Solar Panel → Copper Cable → Battery Box → Macerator.

Energy

The panel only produces power — it never takes any in. It holds up to 8000 EU/FE inside and sends it out on an LV line.

Energy leaves through the 4 sides and the bottom. The top face is the working surface — it faces the sky, so don't cover it.

Generation

Works only in the Overworld, by day, with open sky above. A glass roof is fine. Rain, a thunderstorm or a solid roof shut it down.

Simple rule: if you can see the sky from the top of the panel and it's not raining, it works. When the buffer is full, the panel keeps looking at the sky but the extra energy is just lost — store it in a Battery Box instead.

Inventory

One slot: Evolution chip — turn this panel into a stronger day or night version (see Progression). You can't charge a portable EU/FE item straight from the panel — use a Battery Box for that.

Interface

One screen shows everything: how full the buffer is, current output, the sky state, which branch you picked and how far the chip's evolution has come.

Block Properties

A flat slab half a block tall — sits on top of any solid block. Any pickaxe breaks it, and it keeps its charge when broken, so you can move it freely.

Sound

A soft, quiet hum plays only while the panel is actually working (day, open sky). It falls silent at night, in rain or thunder, or under a roof.

Recipes

Crafted at a workbench from photocells, a casing and cable. It's a generator, so it has no processing recipes of its own. In REI/JEI press R on the base panel to see the crafting recipe. The upgraded day/night panels aren't crafted — you grow them with a chip (see below).

Progression

Drop an evolution chip into the slot and let the panel work for a while. It slowly turns into a stronger version, keeping its stored energy and name: Solar Path (day chip): works only by day, but much stronger → Daylight Solar Panel. Lunar Path (night chip): works only at night → Moonlit Solar Panel. Evolution only ticks while the panel is actually generating (open sky, right time of day, no rain). Expect roughly 3 in-game days of clear weather to finish. Bad weather stretches the wait.

T3 and T4 panels exist in the mod's plans but aren't available yet.

Related

Copper Cable — carries the EU/FE away. Battery Box — saves daytime EU/FE for the night. Macerator — the first thing worth powering.

Crafting

Shaped Crafting

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Solar Panel