Satisfactory Coal Power Guide

Coal power is the first fully automated power source in Satisfactory and one of the biggest early-game upgrades. Once a coal plant is supplied correctly, you can stop feeding Biomass Burners by hand and start expanding the factory around predictable power production.

Unlocking coal power

The Coal-Powered Generator and Water Extractor are unlocked by the Tier 3 Coal Power milestone. A Coal-Powered Generator produces 75 MW at 100% clock speed.

Coal and water requirements

At 100% clock speed, each Coal-Powered Generator consumes 15 Coal per minute and 45 m³ of Water per minute. A Water Extractor produces 120 m³/min at 100% and consumes 20 MW.

Eight-generator starter build: exact inputs

For the standard full-speed setup, plan 8 Coal-Powered Generators, 3 Water Extractors, a sustained 120 Coal/min supply and 360 m³ Water/min. Eight generators produce 600 MW gross. Three extractors consume 60 MW combined, leaving 540 MW before the coal miner, any Pipeline Pumps and other supporting equipment. Do not mistake gross generation for extra usable grid capacity.

One Miner Mk.1 on a pure coal node or one Miner Mk.2 on a normal coal node can each provide 120 Coal/min at normal clock speed. Use a Mk.2 conveyor belt for a combined 120/min coal line, or keep two separate Mk.1 feeds of 60/min supplying four generators each. A single Mk.1 belt cannot carry all 120 Coal/min.

Connect three Water Extractors safely

A Water Extractor delivers 120 m³/min at full speed. Eight generators together need 360 m³/min, but a Mk.1 Pipeline segment carries at most 300 m³/min. A practical arrangement is to position the eight generator water connections in a row and feed the pipe manifold from the left, the middle and the right using separate connections from the three extractors. This distributes the required flow rather than trying to force all 360 m³/min through one pipe section. Keep pipe routing accessible for inspection.

Place the generators near the water level where feasible. Each Water Extractor supplies about 10 metres of head lift; add Pipeline Pumps where the pipe rises beyond that lift. Pumps solve elevation problems, not a pipe throughput bottleneck.

Start-up checklist

1. Keep temporary power connected to the coal miner and all three Water Extractors while the plant starts.
2. Confirm the coal belt can move 120 items/min and that each generator is receiving coal.
3. Let the pipelines fill and check that all generator water buffers gain water before depending on the coal plant to run the supply equipment.
4. Connect the generators to the grid, then check every generator's fuel and water inputs during steady operation.
5. Once stable, retain a way to restart the miner and Water Extractors after a grid trip.

Coal plant not reaching full output?

• Generators at the end run out of coal: inspect miner output and every shared conveyor segment. A Mk.1 belt only carries 60 items/min, so it cannot be the sole feed for eight full-speed generators.
• Water is low in some generators: inspect where the 360 m³/min enters the pipe network. Re-route feeds so no shared Mk.1 pipe segment needs more than 300 m³/min.
• Water stops after an uphill run: check head lift and add appropriately positioned Pipeline Pumps. Extra extractors alone will not correct insufficient lift.
• Plant will not restart after tripping: temporarily power the miner and extractors, prime the network, and reconnect the generators only when their inputs are reliable.
• Capacity reads 600 MW but spare power is smaller: account for the three Water Extractors' 60 MW and the power used by mining and pumping.

Data references: Coal-Powered Generator, Water Extractor and Pipelines on the official Satisfactory Wiki. The figures describe verified standard recipes; the described arrangement has not been physically tested as a downloadable blueprint.

Match the coal supply to the plant

Because each generator consumes 15 Coal/min, a 60 Coal/min supply supports four generators and a 120 Coal/min supply supports eight. Check the actual miner output, node purity and belt capacity before building a larger bank of generators.

Build near water when practical

Coal can be moved easily on conveyor belts. Water requires pipelines, has throughput limits and is affected by head lift. For a first coal plant, placing the generators close to a suitable body of water and transporting the coal to them usually makes the plumbing easier to understand and expand.

Leave expansion space

Coal plants grow quickly. Leave room for extra generators, additional coal belts and separate water feeds. Keeping the coal manifold and water network accessible makes later troubleshooting considerably less miserable.

Continue your factory progression

Return to the Satisfactory Progression Guide or browse the Satisfactory Guides hub.