Energy (SMAC)

Energy is allocated either toward economy, labs, psych or lost at individual bases to Inefficiency.

Energy allocated to Economy is used to maintain base facilities; any excess is placed in the energy reserves. Your faction's economic power is measured by the size of its energy reserves. These reserves are saved as "energy credits," and can be used like money for base facility maintenance, commerce between factions, or to expedite construction projects.
Energy allocated to Labs speeds research into new technologies.
Energy allocated to Psych helps maintain order and peaceful existence inside your bases.

In addition to losing energy at individual bases to Inefficiency, your Efficiency score determines to what degree you can change slider percentages in the energy allocation section of the Social Engineering screen without taking a penalty. If your Efficiency score is +4 or higher you may change sliders freely with no loss. However, if your Efficiency score is lower than that you may take some loss to inefficiency directly from modifying the sliders away from 50/0/50; in general, the greater the difference between your Labs and Economy settings, the more inefficiency occurs.

Usages[]

Rushbuy production
Diplomacy
Upgrading units
Terraforming altitude and depth
Using Probe Teams to capture a unit or base

Acquiring[]

There are various ways to collect Energy.

Terraforming[]

Energy is mostly collected through Terraforming.

Solar Collector, provide +1 Energy, it can provide more Energy depending on the height of the terrain (+1 for every 1000m).
Tidal Harness, provide +3 Energy on sea squares.
Forest, provide +1 Energy, +1 minerals, and +1 nutrients.
Aquifers, provide +1 Energy on each River squares.
Boreholes provided +6 energy and +6 minerals.

Terrain[]

Although Energy is mostly collected through Terraforming, some terrain can provide that resource.

Rivers provides +1 Energy.

The following Landmarks: Uranium Flats, Geothermal Shallows, Pholus Ridge, Mount Planet provides an extra +1 Energy on their respective squares.

Xenofungus provides +1 Energy with the discovery of Centauri Meditation, +1 with Secrets of Alpha Centauri, 1+ with Temporal Mechanics.

Base Facilities[]

Headquarters, +1 Energy for Capital Base.
Hybrid Forest, +1 on forest squares (require the Tree Farm to be built prior).
Thermocline Transducer, +1 on Tidal Harness squares.
Recycling Tanks, +1 Energy

Secret Projects[]

The Merchant Exchange allows +1 energy for every square the tiles of the base that builds it.

From other factions[]

Probe teams can steal energy from other factions.
You can energy when you conquer another faction.
You can borrow, trade, or export energy from other factions.

Other[]

Morgan gets an energy bonus.
Kill any native life other than fungus gives you energy.
Environmental Economics eliminates limits on how much energy can be produced anywhere without an energy bonus on the tile.

Stockpile Energy[]

If you don't particularly need any new units or facilities from a base, but don't want to let its production capacity go to waste (or if your faction is strapped for cash) you can order your base to Stockpile Energy. This causes the base to immediately sell off every excess mineral it produces in exchange for energy credits, which are then deposited in your energy reserves. (Every 2 excess minerals you produce turn into 1 energy).