When playing Stellaris, I often find myself with a lot of energy credits. The most obvious way to spend them is to run the economy at a deficit for a few months, but it's not clear to me how I can safely and reversibly do this, or what advantages it would give me. Also, the game constantly nags me if I try. There are some things which cost energy credits in lump sums, but I haven't seen many big ones besides diplomacy, which can be hit or miss depending on the neighbors' attitudes. The end result is that I usually sit at the credit cap once I've been running my empire for long enough, and the game then nags me for "wasting" the surplus.
What are some strategically reasonable things to spend energy credits on in bulk?
Best Answer
For spending credits directly I am going to have to agree with the wiki. Clearing tiles and buildings robots takes a small amount of energy, and is obviously not always available. Terraforming consumes a large amount but is also situational. Trade deals are likely the most reliable way to spend a large amount of energy.
There is an alternative solution for using excess energy. Ships in orbit of a friendly planet or spaceport (especially with upgrades) have reduced maintenance costs. You can build up a particularly large fleet and keep it docked to maintain positive income. When you send the fleet out to annex your neighbor, you will have a deficit until you dock fleet again. This would seem to meet your earlier plan for a reversible method of running a deficit. As a bonus, a large fleet is always of strategic benefit.