Power moves automatically through connected buildings in Beyond These Stars; Peeps do not carry it. Early powered buildings must touch a generator, while Power Lines later bridge distance and can connect to one another. A working grid still needs generator inputs, workers, and empty by-product storage, so visible contact alone does not prove that power will flow.
Start with direct contact
The Burner Generator is the first power source. It burns Wood or Wood Waste, produces Power, creates Soot, and pollutes while working. Before Power Lines unlock, place the powered consumer next to and touching the generator. If the consumer says it has no power, verify actual tile contact and that the generator has an eligible worker and fuel.
Do not crowd every tile around the generator. Its early adjacency can reduce pollution when four surrounding tiles remain empty, including roads, though that condition also slows it. Forests can help suppress nearby pollution. Choose enough clearance for safety and future connections rather than packing industry into the smallest possible footprint.
Keep Soot moving. A full generator output stops generation even when fuel and workers are available. Build storage before the line is full, and preserve some Soot for Cleaners when pollution control requires it.
Extend the grid with Power Lines
Power Lines unlock after early Copper production. They require no workers, connect generators to consumers over distance, and can connect to other lines. They can sit on roads, which protects the route from future buildings and planted forests that might otherwise block it.
Generator
Needs its own workers, input fuel, output room, and pollution plan.
Connection
Use direct touching early, then a continuous chain of Power Lines and connected buildings.
Consumer
Still needs workers, recipe inputs, and output capacity after power arrives.
Corridor
Place lines on stable roads and reserve crossings before construction or Forest blocks the route.
The central river can make crossings awkward, even with a range perk. Plan the corridor while terraforming nearby land instead of waiting until both banks are full of buildings. A simple road spine with redundant access is easier to inspect than diagonal hops through changing forest.
Avoid circular startup failures
Later Fuel and Battery generation produces more power per cycle, but their input resources can depend on powered production. If the whole grid goes dark, the factory cannot make the fuel or battery needed to restart its generator. Keep a Burner Generator or a stored-input restart segment that does not rely on the failed loop.
Power can also be wasted. A generator may continue consuming inputs while connected storage has no room for additional Power; excess disappears, while the by-product still accumulates. Do not run maximum generation simply because the grid permits it. Match generation to real demand and retain reserve inputs.
Separate critical and optional loads by operation even if the visual grid remains connected. When supply is tight, pause a nonessential advanced producer so construction materials, cleanup, or the required objective chain receives stable power.
Repair a grid that looks connected
Trace from source to consumer:
- Select the generator and confirm worker, fuel, active task, and Soot or other by-product space.
- Follow every Power Line connection; inspect gaps created by a new building, Forest, or changed terrain.
- Confirm the target touches the generator or a valid connected line.
- Read the target state for its own worker, inputs, output, and construction completion.
- Pause optional powered buildings and watch a complete generator cycle.
- If advanced generation cannot restart, bring the open-loop backup online first.
Do not demolish multiple grid parts at once. Change one segment and watch the power indicator so you know which connection solved the failure.
Build for expansion
Route power beside durable roads, leave junction points near planned industrial districts, and keep the line away from housing pollution where possible. Add storage for each generator’s by-product before adding its fuel supply. Recheck the network after planting forests or placing large footprints.
For resource deadlocks, use By-Products. For the environmental side of generation, read Pollution; for placement bonuses, see Adjacency Bonuses.
References checked for this route
- Official Power page for automatic transfer, generation, consumption, wasted power, and advanced-generator dependencies.
- Official Power Line page for connections, road placement, blockers, unlock context, and river crossings.
- Official Burner Generator page for fuel, Soot, pollution, direct contact, and restart risks.
- Official Steam news for the Hotfix #1 range-display correction.