IN SolarpunkSolar panels are one of the very first sources of power and energy that players can obtain, and are key to automating the farming process early in the game.
However, once players unlock the solar panel recipe, they may find themselves a bit lost. The game doesn't explain how the solar panels work, what they're supposed to be used for, or how to get the most out of them, which leads to some confusion. Here is the breakdown.
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How to unlock solar panels in Solarpunk
Solar panels can be unlocked at Energy Workbench (Tier 2)which is located in the tradebot shop on the island directly north of the starting island, accessible via a level 1 airship. After building your airship, head to the tradebot island, enter his shop and “fix” the console on the table directly across from the bot. This is the Energy Workbench.
Interact with the Energy Workbench to unlock the recipe for the Energy Crafting Table using a plan (Plans are rewards for trading with the tradebot). Doing so unlocks tier 1 recipes on the Energy Workbench, one of which is the Solar Panel. Use the next blueprint to unlock the solar panel recipe.
How to make solar panels in Solarpunk
IN Solarpunkyou will be able to make solar panels in an Energy crafting table. This is not the same as the Energy Workbench in the merchant's shop. It's a table that you can make at the Crafting Table.
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Item |
Station |
Recipe |
|---|---|---|
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Energy crafting table |
Craft table |
Glass can be made by melting sand in a furnace. Sand can be obtained by mining sand blocks (brown-colored deposits) or as a by-product of mining ores such as iron, copper, cobalt, and others.
After building the Energy Crafting Table, you will be able to craft a Solar Panel using this recipe:
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Item |
Station |
Recipe |
|---|---|---|
|
Solar panel |
Energy crafting table |
|
How to use solar panels in Solarpunk
To use a solar panel to generate power, you will need three things:
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Solar panel
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Cables x2
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Power-driven equipment (e.g. sprayer, drill)
Let's say you want to give power to a Sprinkler in your farm using a solar panel. To do this, place the solar panel near the farm and the sprinkler next to the farmland field. Place two cables, one to the solar panel outlet and the other to the sprinkler.
Once the electrical lines are connected, the sprinkler will start working using the energy generated by the solar panel. However, due to the nature of how a solar panel works, the power it generates is variable and changes depending on the time of day and weather conditions. From our testing, there are four solar panel performance “settings”:
- Bright sunlight: 100 Performance
- Early Dawn / Late Evening: 70 Performance
- Rain: 10 Performance
- Night: 0 Performance
This means that you will get a maximum of 100 energy from one solar panel. The sprinkler requires 40 energy to operate, which means you can connect two of them to one solar panel and they will work at certain times of the day. However, if you connect a third sprinkler to this system, the solar panel will stop working completely and will not even supply power to the first two sprinklers. In addition, in the evening, when the solar panel is at 70, it will stop working if it is connected to two sprinklers.
If you connect a grid display to the solar panel, it will show how much energy is being produced and how much is being used.
Solar panel system with infinite energy
A battery is an energy storage device that can be unlocked by drafting on the Tier 2 Energy Workbench. If you connect a battery to a solar panel, it will store any excess energy it generates and use it to make up for the deficit when the solar panel is not producing power. This can be used to create perpetual solar panel systems that never run out of power, even at night.
- Released
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June 8, 2026
- Developers
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Cyberwave
- Publishers
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rokaplay, Metaroot
- Multiplayer
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Online Co-Op
- Number of players
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For one player
