I cant help but feel i'm missing something in the power generation tree. I've of course got the windmills i started with, plus I researched them. Then there's the steam generators.

So first question, are wood pellets (edit, i found out that carbon is more efficient apparently, cant do the math myself) the only way to make steam until you get fermentation and start up a wood farm?

Second, is Steam and Wind the only power until Solar? That seems a long way off.

Maybe i'm missing something. I'm using stacks to burn off hydrogen and oxygen, feels like I should be able to use those to make some power. Or maybe i'm missing a better fuel source for the steam generators.

Thanks!

You don't need fermentation yet. You can put any organic material into a composter. These recipes are hidden in FNEI by default. Easiest option is brown algae.

Even when you get a wood farm, you will still want to convert your wood through to at least charcoal - if not carbon / charcoal pellets.

No, don't feel bad about venting hydrogen and oxygen.

Upgrading to MK2 boilers and steam engines is another significant power boost. Make sure you upgrade them together though. Mixing tiers will give you a big energy loss.