Workarounds for entity prototypes limited to ElectricEnergySource?

[AkBKukU]

I'm fairly new to modding the game but I got the idea stuck in my head for part of a mod the makes laser turrets that run off heat with the intention of having nuclear reactors closer to the front lines for some risk/reward fun. But from what I've been reading in the API Docs the ElectricTurretPrototype, like many entity prototypes it seems, are limited to the ElectricEnergySource. I created a test mod that attempts to set the energy_source to a heat provider and the game does reject it. I couldn't find a reason why, only that it has been that way since at least 2018: https://wiki.factorio.com/index.php?tit ... did=160245 I would have guessed that the engine is requesting a generic energy drain per each action but it must need something more specific for electricity.

I tried looking up how other people may have solved this and while I'm not the first person to think about using alternate energy sources, it didn't seem like there have been any viable solutions:

• This mod added an exception for laser turrets being heat powered: https://mods.factorio.com/mod/heat-powered?from=search

• This post mentions using hidden entities as a workaround: viewtopic.php?p=491760&hilit=electric+turret#p491760

I'm guessing the hidden entities option has issues when the player mouses over the the visible entity and cannot see what temperature it is effectively at. Are there any other kinds of techniques that could be used for creating something like a heat powered turret that I've missed?