Building reference
No power, no growth. The question is how clean, how steady and how expensive you want it to be.
Every building needs electricity, and a lot without it will not grow. Generators feed the grid they are connected to, and streets carry the grid to every building beside them, so a power line is only needed to join a plant (or an off-street site) to the streets. Two generators on the same grid add their output together; a generator on a cut-off estate powers only that estate.
Thermal plants are steady but pollute; solar and wind are clean but vary with the hour, the season and the weather. The gas plant can be upgraded in place to coal and then nuclear. The utility networks guide explains supply, load and what happens when a grid falls short.
| Building | Cost | Upkeep / day | Unlocks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gas plant | $900 | $4.5 | From the start |
| Coal plant | $1,800 | $7 | 02 · Keep the lights on |
| Nuclear plant | $14,000 | $24 | 05 · A skyline of our own |
| Hydro dam | $4,000 | $3 | 04 · A town that pays its way |
| Solar array | $220 | $0.35 | From the start |
| Wind turbine | $340 | $0.7 | From the start |
| Power line | $15 per tile | $0.03 | From the start |
A compact gas turbine: reliable, flexible generation with heavy upkeep and some smoke (+5 air pollution). Upgrades in place to a coal or nuclear plant when three tiles beside it are clear.
+1,250 stable generation
A four-tile coal-fired station: cheap bulk power, the dirtiest per unit (+13 air pollution) and a nuisance to its neighbours. Burns local coke from a coking works for up to +500 more. Build it over a gas plant to upgrade (you pay the difference). Built by a crew over about 24 days; it opens when done.
+3,000 stable generation · +20 jobs
A four-tile reactor: the clean baseload that brings the city's air down. Inspectors hold it at 50% output unless a fire station stands within 10 tiles. Build it over a coal plant (or a gas plant with three clear tiles) to upgrade in place. Built by a crew over about 60 days; it opens when done.
+6,000 clean generation · +40 jobs
A dam across a narrow river channel (at most 3 tiles of water, with banks on both sides): steady generation with no smoke. Each dam spares 30% of the lots a flood would damage (up to 60% with several). It is built into the river and cannot be moved; demolishing it frees the water. Built by a crew over about 40 days; it opens when done.
+900 clean generation · +6 jobs
Clean daytime generation that varies by hour and season.
Up to +320 clean generation
Clean generation with deterministic changing wind output.
Up to +480 variable clean generation
Links a generator, or a site away from the streets, to the grid. Streets already carry the mains, so every building beside a connected street (or touching a connected building) is powered; a grid's generators add their output together.
Joins a plant or site to the grid · +260 distribution capacity · can share roads
Figures are the game's base prices. Upkeep is charged every in-game day, and construction bills are drawn from the city's stock of materials, steel, copper wire and timber (see farms and trade).