In Cities Skylines, Hydroelectric Dams are a bloody pain to build, but knowing where to build one will save you time, money and space! The effectiveness of your power production is really up to you. If you know where to build what and when, then you will produce as much power as you need at the most practical cost per MW in any given set of circumstances. Every means of electric production is intuitive to the player, except for hydroelectric dams, apparently. So, what is the secret to building a good dam? Hydroelectric dam placement has everything to do with the water flow mechanics in the game. Oh gawd, physics lesson!
Cities Skylines Dam’s Summary
A fundamental characteristic of water in the game is its tendency to flow downward due to gravity. The water will flow to the most accessible low point. When the water has no where to go but through the dam? The water will only flow through the dam if its surface meets very near the height of the dam. When it does meet and the water on the other side of the dam is near the base?
Until the water reaches about the same height of the dam, you will not produce any hydroelectricity. It’s somewhat like a straw that you place above the surface of the fluid in your glass. You’re not going to get any pressure to draw the fluid into your mouth. Similarly, if the water surface is not sufficiently above the dam intake, then the dam is not yet operational. #Pressure!
The second thing to keep in mind is that length does not matter as much as height. It’s all in the height. Again, gravity! The farther the water falls, the more potential energy your dam will harness.
The real trick is placing your dam at a height and length so that water upstream does not find a path through terrain that is at a lower elevation than the height of the dam. Rule of thumb: always place the height of the dam at an elevation lower than the terrain surrounding the upstream water. In other words, the dam should not exceed the highest elevations of the upstream terrain!
Finding locations to build Hydroelectric Dams:
When considering a hydroelectric dam, ask yourself:
- Are there any deep rivers going between cliffs on this map?
- Is the river’s inflow at the edge of the map?
- Can you place a hydroelectric dam as close to the map’s edge as possible?
- Is there a waterfall on the map that you can exploit?
Upon finding a potential location, check the area with plans of dams using the dam tool and consider:
- Will the currents sufficiently raise the banks, meet the dam’s height, and feed water to the dam continuously?
- Will the dam be cost effective?
- Will the dam and the resulting reservoir of water it holds take up more space than your power alternatives?
- Will the water find an easier route down past the dam?
- Will this cause a flood that drowns your citizens?
- Are there better power alternatives for your city right now?
If your answers to these questions do not correspond to implanting your proposal, then I advise you consider other options.
Cost Effectiveness of Hydroelectric Dam
You should always keep in mind the cost effectiveness of your power grid when planning to expand upon it. Think about cost per MW!
- At 427MW, a dam is better than a solar plant.
- At 321MW, a dam is better than any wind plant.
- At 257MW, a dam is better than a nuclear plant. (Not considering 1.92k m³ water / week!)
- At 229MW, a dam is better than a coal plant. (Not considering cost of resource burned!)
- At 201MW, a dam is better than an oil plant. (Not considering cost of resource burned!)
- At 27MW, a dam is better than an incineration plant. (Just burn garbage with it!)
This considered, the goal of your city should be fusion power! But you need plenty of power until you get there. A fusion plant produces 16GW for only 8,000€. 1/2€ per MW!
To get the most out of your power plants, you should budget your grid at 150% if needed. Conversely, you can conserve power and money by lowering the budget.
The budget is directly proportional to power production. At 150% budget for power, a 1600MW dam with an upkeep of 3200€ will be 2400MW with an upkeep of 4800€. The same holds true for all other power plants, including fusion, though I doubt you will ever need 24GW!
Fusion Power
Fusion Power is your primary goal. Once you have it, forget dams, wind, solar and nuclear. Nothing compares to the supremacy of fusion power!
To unlock fusion, you need 6 unique buildings (in bold, prerequisite in regular) and 65k population:
- 3 Full Cemeteries -> Plaza of the Dead
- 1 Full Lifetime -> Fountain of Life and Death
- 3 Water Pumps for 1k Days -> Tax Office
- 1k Abandoned Buildings for 5 Weeks -> Observatory
- 5k Full Lifespans Over Time -> Science Center
- 50% Highly Educated -> Modern Art Museum
Uh, good luck, you are on your own in this endeavor!
Failure should not be an option! On some maps and playthroughs, you and your city will be better off if you just take an alternative path of power production. Do what is most cost effective per MW, but what also delivers. Sometimes, hydroelectric dams just are not damn practical. Go solar or wind until you can get fusion!
If you want a go with a city-building and damn-building map, try Islands.
Source: Play Skylines.
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