No Man's Sky power, Electrical Wires and Biofuel Reactors explained

How to add power and build a Biofuel Reactor in No Man's Sky

First, you'll want to set up your first No Man's Sky base and once you're set up with the basics, you'll want to introduce electricity. And to do that, you're going to need to build a Biofuel Reactor.

Finding Salvaged Data

The blueprints for the Biofuel Reactor cost 1 Salvaged Data, meaning it's time to strap on your Analysis Visor and go Buried Technology hunting once more.

You can retrieve Salvaged Data by searching the Buried Technology Modules you can find across the planets you visit.

Use your Analysis Visor to scan the nearby location for a Buried Technology Module. You're a downwards pointing arrow icon, which has a wi-fi symbol on it. Hovering over the icon will tell you that you're looking at the site of a Buried Technology Module and how far away it is.

You'll want to tag the Buried Technology Module, so that you can find it without having your Analysis Visor on.

Once you reach the Buried Technology Module, use your Terrain Manipulator to dig down to the Technology Module and retrieve the Salvaged Data.

With this data in hand, head back to your Construction Research Unit and take the Biofuel Reactor plans.

Building a Biofuel Reactor in No Man's Sky

To build a Biofuel Reactor, you'll need:

• 1 Metal Plating
• 40 Oxygen

You'll find Oxygen by using your Mining Beam on surrounding plant life and animals, while you need 50 Ferrite Dust for the Metal Plating.

Once you've gathered your resources, you can build your first Biofuel Reactor.

Eventually you'll be able to build more effective power supplies, such as Solar Panels.

How to place Electrical Wiring in No Man's Sky

Now that you have your power source, it's time to lay some Electrical Wiring.

You can find Electrical Wiring in the Build Menu, under the Industrial branch of the Power & Industry menu.

Never fear when placing Electrical Wiring, because it costs nothing and is easy to delete.

When you're placing Electrical Wiring a glowing green ball will appear on screen. This is the end of the wires you are laying.

Sockets are displayed by blue circles containing thunderbolts. You'll want to run Electrical Wires between these symbols to connect them together.

Simply drag the glowing green ball over to the thunderbolt circle where you want to start laying your Electrical Wire. This will make the thunderbolt glow green. You can then drag the wire to the thunderbolt symbol you want to connect it to.

Once you've connected your Biofuel Reactor to the technology you want to power, you need to fill its Furnace Tank.

You can fill your Biofuel Reactor with either Carbon, Condensed Carbon or Oxygen.

Depending on how much you put it, you'll get a certain amount of Burn Time, which will be the amount of time your Biofuel Reactor will be able to power your base. The more resources you put in the Furnace Tank, the longer you'll have electricity.

Cycle back to our main hub for what's new in what's new in No Man's Sky Beyond and more basic info on the big update, otherwise take a look at our deep dive on No Man's Sky multiplayer explained for more on teaming up, our guide to base building, an introduction into electrical wiring and powering your base, to how to expand your Exosuit, Ship and Multi-tool inventory space, and Freighters and Frigates explained. Plus other handy stuff like how to repair your ship and get the Hermetic Seal, Pure Ferrite, Metal Plating and Di-Hydrogen Jelly, locations of theAtlas Pass v1, v2 and v3, a guide to No Man's Sky money and how to earn Units fast, plushow to get Antimatter and the Antimatter recipe, and even how to save the game in No Man's Sky, too. Finally, we have pages on how to reach the centre of the galaxy, how to get Chromatic Metal, and a Journey Milestones list, too.

Other tips and tricks for Electrical Wiring and Power in No Man's Sky

Here are some important tips to remember when experimenting with the new power mechanics in No Man's Sky Beyond:

• Electrical Wiring cost nothing. Take the time to experiment with placing and deleting Electrical Wiring without the fear that you are wasting resources.
• Remember to unlock new technology in the Construction Research Unit. Recovering more Salvaged Data will allow you to unlock more productive sources of power, such as Solar Panels. So, if you want a more sophisticated base, consider working your way through the various technology branches found in the Construction Research Unit.
• Don't waste all your Carbon! Don't fill your Biofuel Reactor's Furnace Tank with Carbon, if you experimenting with a new layout for your various technologies and Electrical Wiring, Instead, just put in enough to make sure that everything is working properly and that you like the layout. Otherwise you're just going to end up wasting resources.