(i did a quick search before posting, have been surprised to not find such an obvious suggestion, surely i must have just missed it, please bear with me)
wind generators are IRL simpler to build than crafting solar panels. in cacaclysm:dda buding a wind generator could be as simple as building a tower (of two-by-four’s or pipes), adding an electrical engine, several (2+) fan blades, (probably a transmission box when/if those arrive to cdda) — and we would be good to go. c’mon, it’s not even electronics!
waterwheel generator is another possibility.
currently though to the best of my knowledge there’s no way to transport electricity from point A to point B other than in a charged battery… it would be great to be able to stretch wires to connect different devices, for example charging an electric car/quadbike directly from a generator or a stack of large batteries in a corner would be great.
with the way vehicle construction works in cdda, with all the great stuff players come up with (solar-powered fridge! segway! base lighting!) and new ways to use electricity, a proper power mini-station is something of a must have in game =)
p.s. i enjoy cataclysm:dda immensely, however i tend to role-play it rather than explore every possible fantastic weapon or trying on every mutation… that’s why i really miss some of rather simple and obvious-ish post-apocalyptic constructions.