Silly question about power plants

[Heraclitus]

If you first build a power plant powered by coal, and then build a nuclear or hydro plant in the same city, do you loose the unhealthiness produced by the coal plant?

I can’t quite remember how it works right now.

[Theben]

I would think so, but I always go for Three Gorges so I dunno.

[Jaybe]

You lose the unhealthiness of the coal plant, but you still keep the unhealthiness of having power.

Of course, if you make the mistake of building a coal plant AFTER you have a clean power plant, you are in deep coal soot.

Theben, you really ought to build some coal plants in select locations. They come SO much earlier than the bleepin' dam.

[Hauptman]

I'm with Theben. I always wait til plastics (unless playing Tokugawa), I too wasn't sure if I'd be stuck with the unhealthiness.

If it does go away, I'll change that behaivior...

[Theben]

Originally posted by Jaybe

Theben, you really ought to build some coal plants in select locations. They come SO much earlier than the bleepin' dam.

In any game that I've played that far, there's no point.

Of course there's usually no point in playing either, since I'm almost guaranteed to win.

[jkp1187]

Originally posted by Jaybe
You lose the unhealthiness of the coal plant, but you still keep the unhealthiness of having power.

Of course, if you make the mistake of building a coal plant AFTER you have a clean power plant, you are in deep coal soot.

Theben, you really ought to build some coal plants in select locations. They come SO much earlier than the bleepin' dam.

I remember Blake saying once that, from a pure cost benefit analysis point of view, there was little point in waiting for hydro or even Three Gorges. Just go all out with coal plants, then use either recycling centers or environmentalism to smooth out the health issues. (Or just use your extra early productivity to win the game before those become available.)

[Skanky Burns]

I think I should change my behaviour with regards to these power plants, too. I tend not to build them because they are coal powerplants and soon to be obsolete, not because they cause unhealthiness.

[Heraclitus]

Originally posted by Skanky Burns
I think I should change my behaviour with regards to these power plants, too. I tend not to build them because they are coal powerplants and soon to be obsolete, not because they cause unhealthiness.

I don't remember coal plants going obsolete.

[MoonWolf]

Haven't been sure of this myself and I too usually head for Three Gorges instead of building coal plants cause of the problems.

Will the factory generate from power even if the power is clean (e.g. not coal-based)?

[Jaybe]

You get unhealthiness from power if you have a powerplant, clean or not. You get ADDITIONAL unhealthiness for using coal.

Actually, you get unhealthiness from power even if you don't have a factory (as with Three Gorges Dam, for instance).

[MoonWolf]

Thanks!

Originally posted by Jaybe
Actually, you get unhealthiness from power even if you don't have a factory (as with Three Gorges Dam, for instance).

Really? Wow, that one was a surprise... I wonder what's the reason for that is, what's it's supposed to reflect... No wonder why unhealth is really an issue late game even in cities without factories...

[Skanky Burns]

Originally posted by Heraclitus
I don't remember coal plants going obsolete.

Well, not exactly obsolete, but that a better version is available later. Why build a coal plant when you can have hydro?

[jkp1187]

Originally posted by Skanky Burns

Well, not exactly obsolete, but that a better version is available later. Why build a coal plant when you can have hydro?

Because having coal plants now is better than having the (more expensive) hydro plants 15 turns later, or the risky nuclear plants 25 turns later. More production now means you can win the game faster.

[Theben]

I went ahead and built a few select coal plants. I gotta say that it's a helluva boost. But almost every city I built them in is now slowly dying.

[Supr49er]

Originally posted by Skanky Burns

Well, not exactly obsolete, but that a better version is available later. Why build a coal plant when you can have hydro?

Well, you need a river to build a Hydro Plant - or the expensive Three Gorges Dam. Coal Plants come early, why not get boosted production for as long as you can.