Electricity Generation at Jool

[Pikapolar]

I am building a refueling station in Pol orbit and am wondering how to power the ISRU. The Convert-O-Tron 250 uses 30 ⚡/s of EC while the Gigantor XL Solar Array only provides 1.2 ⚡/s of EC and the PB-NUK Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generator provides 0.8 ⚡/s of EC. I know there are fuel cells which provide a lot more EC but using fuel to generate fuel seems a bit futile. As I am in Sandbox mode I could use a 5 star Engineer to improve consumption.

[AHHans]

Let me quote from the Convert-O-Tron 250 wiki page:

Quote

It is possible to power the converter by channeling some of the liquid fuel and oxidizer generated into fuel cells, removing the need for solar panels or expensive PB-NUK Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generators, although doing so effectively lowers the mass conversion ratio from 1:1 to 1:0.925 (or lower, if the fuel cell is also being used to power a 'Drill-O-Matic' Mining Excavator), making it more suitable for surface installations, where the conversion ratio is somewhat irrelevant.

So, yes, you can power the Convert-O-Tron with fuel cells and have fuel left over. (Don't ask, it's Kerbal physics.) Or you can power it with many solar panels or many RTGs. Or a combination of those.

I personally have changed my solar-powered Minmus miner to work in the Joolian system by adding two RTGs (to always have some power) and a fuel cell array. So it doesn't have enough generating capacity with any method on its own, but together it should work O.K.

[jimmymcgoochie]

For purely stock parts, use fuel cell arrays to power the converter and drills and a couple of RTGs as backup power, just in case. Converters can produce more than enough fuel for the fuel cells to power the converter, and if that sounds like it breaks the laws of thermodynamics, it’s only because it does.

If you want to dip your toe into mods: Near Future Electrical adds nuclear reactors for extremely high power production (up to 6000EC/s) but also with extremely high costs and requiring a lot of radiators; Near Future Solar adds massive (size and weight) solar panels that can produce up to 500EC/s at Kerbin and which will still power a moderate sized base out at Jool; and I think Stockalike Mining Extension adds some additional fuel cell options as well as more mining parts which in some cases  more power efficient than the stock parts, but also larger and require more total power input.