The desert is full of smoke, and the sunset in the Gobi.

A jeep on a gravel beach without any roads.

The bumpy body made several people sitting on it feel that their overnight meals were about to be turned upside down.

"There is still a lot of room for development in our infrastructure!"

Zhang Xingyang, who was sitting in the back row and clutching the armrest, said after withstanding the nausea that kept surging in his stomach.

At this time, the domestic infrastructure is still in its infancy.

Especially in the northwest region, all kinds of high-level roads and railways have not been completed.

Therefore, at this time, driving in the northwest is not a more pleasant thing like in later generations, but a real torture.

"It is said that in a few years, there will be a road here."

Driving was a young man in charge of geological exploration, whose geological team has been working around the neighborhood lately.

This time, he was also responsible for leading the way for Zhang Xingyang and them.

On this land, they are the most familiar people with trekking poles and geological hammers in their hands all year round.

"At that time, if you come to Dunhuang again, it will be much easier to go."

The young man, also a native of the Northwest, studied geology in college, and after graduation gave up his high-paying job in the east and returned here.

So when he said this, he carried a kind of self-confidence peculiar to young people.

He believes that this region, which has created the myth of the Silk Road in the past one or two thousand years, also has its own development trajectory in the new era.

"A thousand years ago, it was an important center of the Silk Road."

Zhang Xingyang thought silently in his heart:

"Now, a thousand years later, they are also about to become the new energy center."

Zhang Xingyang: The important work of their visit to the Northwest Gobi is to select a site for the first CSP power station in China.

In fact, CSP is currently a very cutting-edge new energy research field in the world.

In the future energy development process, solar thermal power stations also play a very important role.

Especially in China, there are large areas in the northwest where there is no rain all year round and the average annual sunshine time is more than 2,000 hours.

In these areas, the development of solar power generation industry can not only drive local economic income, but also achieve the benefits of fixing aquatic weeds and reducing wind and sand.

However, the current mainstream solar power generation method, photovoltaic power generation, has self-evident drawbacks.

That is, the power generation time is not stable enough, and it is not possible to generate electricity in rainy weather and at night.

During these periods, the device can only consume the electricity it previously generated.

In fact, the current wind power and hydropower also have such shortcomings.

Wind power, which is greatly affected by wind speed, has a large difference in output power at peak and valley levels.

Hydropower, on the other hand, is affected by the flood season, which generates a large amount of electricity in summer and is basically unable to generate electricity in winter.

To a large extent, CSP converts unstable solar energy into stable thermal energy through indirect means.

Take hot molten salt solar thermal power generation as an example.

On a sunny day, when the sun is good, the molten salt inside the molten salt tower is heated to a liquid state by the extremely hot light under the action of a condenser reflector.

These liquid, high-temperature molten salts heat the water in the AC pipes, which in turn rotates the steam turbines to generate electricity.

In a way, humans have found another way to boil water.

"We're here!"

Yi Yun, who was in charge of driving, parked the car on a flat ground steadily.

Facing it was a simple camp, apparently a temporary residence for Yi Yun and them during their outdoor investigations.

"Hello, Professor Zhang."

After hearing the sound of a car, a middle-aged man with a rough face stepped out of the tent.

Cordially shook hands with Zhang Xingyang.

"Hello, you are Captain Fu!"

Zhang Xingyang could feel that the other party's hands were covered with calluses, obviously having worked on the front line for many years.

Captain Fu has been working on the plateau and the Gobi for a long time, and there is a touch of plateau red on his face all the time, and after smiling, he said with some restraint:

"Just call me old man."

After a brief greeting, Captain Fu turned around and pointed to a large area behind him and said:

"Professor Zhang, this is where we found, and it should meet your standards."

Zhang Xingyang looked at the large flat Gobi Desert behind him from a distance.

There are hundreds of hectares of land in circumference, and there are basically no ups and downs of half a meter.

"The strata here are stable enough that there has never been an earthquake of more than three magnitudes in the past recorded."

The northwestern region at the junction of tectonic plates is itself in the vicinity of the seismic zone.

And the seismic records of this land have a history of hundreds of thousands of years.

In such a long history, there has not been an earthquake of magnitude or higher.

This means that the strata here are extremely stable.

"Also, the lighting conditions here are good."

Captain Fu flipped through the thick notebook in his hand and said:

"Last year and the year before, there were 2,751 hours of sunlight and 2,978 hours of sunlight respectively."

This light duration, even if you look at it nationwide, can be regarded as a super long period of light.

If it is longer, it can even break the record of the length of light in China.

After Zhang Xingyang heard these two data, he made a silent calculation in his heart.

Although molten salt power generation is less affected by the light time, it also needs a relatively long light time to maintain non-stop operation.

In previous laboratory tests, in order to achieve 24 hours of non-stop, it was basically necessary to achieve about 10 hours of light per day.

However, according to Zhang Xingyang, from the local experience, in this place with stronger sunlight, it may only take 8-9 hours a day to maintain the molten salt in a liquid state, so as to maintain 24 hours of non-stop power generation.

Of course, this is based on the premise of an installed capacity of 100MW, and if the installed capacity is increased to 200MW, or even 500MW, the demand for sunlight will be even higher.

However, the first molten salt tower CSP will be an experimental power station with a small installed capacity.

It is not possible to maintain an installed capacity of more than 200MW.

However, Zhang Xingyang cannot only consider the current construction situation, but also the future construction.

In the future, a 1,000MW CSP power station with an installed capacity comparable to that of a large thermal power station will also be built on this land.

They must be given enough land for construction.

In fact, in a few decades, this land that was once uncovered will change like never before.

At that time, the original Gobi Desert was dotted with solar thermal power stations.

Even in space, you can see the dark Gobi at night, scattered with pearls.

The light emitted by the high-temperature molten salt that will not be extinguished at night is also a beacon that will never be extinguished in the sea of sand!

Zhang Xingyang quickly calculated the answer he wanted.

More than 2,700 hours of light per year, even when taking into account steam turbine shutdowns.

It can also generate electricity for more than 200 days per year.

In this way, the annual power generation will reach more than 1 billion kWh.

That's a huge number.

You know, the national power generation in 01 was only 1.5 trillion kilowatt-hours of electricity.

After the completion of this solar thermal power station, it will be able to generate nearly 1/1000 of the annual power generation!

"This will be the national energy center of the future, do you believe it? Old man! ”

Zhang Xingyang pointed to the Gobi in front of him, which was almost empty, and shouted.

The old man, who was full of vicissitudes of life, blinked his eyes that were a little puffy because he had been out of the field all year round, and looked at the wind and sand in front of him a little ignorantly.

He didn't understand what the basis for Zhang Xingyang's words was.

Even in this era when the domestic photovoltaic industry has not developed greatly, many people don't even know about solar cells.

However, this did not prevent him from being infected by Zhang Xingyang's passion, and he was also a little excited:

"In that case, life here will be much better than it is now!"

Lao Fu is also from the northwest, although his hometown is thousands of kilometers away from this Gobi Desert, but there is not much difference between the two places.

The same sandstorms, the same drought, and the same poverty.

Since ancient times, it has been outside the 400 mm precipitation line in China, which means that the ecology here is not suitable for farming.

Only small oases can be planted.

But these oases, which are greatly affected by the climate, can be maintained for a short time.

As a result, the region has been impoverished for thousands of years.

"It will be fine, after the initial investment, CSP will bring tens of millions of revenue every year."

Zhang Xingyang patiently explained to the old man on the side.

The rest of the camp also came out at this time and began to listen to their conversation with their ears tilted.

Most of these geological team members are natives of the northwest, and a few outsiders have also established a deep bond with this land.

"In fact, we can also build quite a few photovoltaic power plants around these solar thermal power plants."

"Under the reflective mirror and photovoltaic panels, under the heat difference between morning and evening, a lot of water droplets will be condensed, so we can grow a lot of crops under it."

The model Zhang Xingyang mentioned has actually been proven to be very scientific and effective in later generations.

This kind of technology is also very rare in the world.

I'm afraid that only Chinese people who have almost engraved farming in their genes can want to farm in such a place!

"In the early days, we can also interplant some pasture grass and then carry out green storage and breeding."

CSP power plants, due to design problems, may not be suitable for grazing, and can only be used for green storage and breeding.

But in reality, in photovoltaic solar power plants, it is possible to carry out grazing.

Most of the parents of this generation who have just entered the 21st century are still farmers, and they have done a lot of farm work or herded sheep since they were young.

So after listening to Zhang Xingyang's description, many people entered into reverie.

After these plants are built, huge photovoltaic panels and mirrors are covered with lush corn and pasture.

Under the photovoltaic panels, flocks of sheep, either snow-white or dotted with jet-black, slowly gnawed on the fresh grass on the ground.

"Tan sheep itself is also a relatively high-end food in China, after which we can expand the breeding range of Tan sheep."

Zhang Xingyang continued to talk about the future development of the Gobi.

For many of the people on the geological team, such a scene they had never imagined.

Some of them have also thought about the future direction of their hometowns.

Some people think that there are no famous places of interest here, and there are no eye-catching scenery.

There probably won't be any chance of development.

But at this time, Zhang Xingyang gave them another direction of development for the Gobi.

Become an energy hub for the nation.

A solar thermal power plant covering an area of 850 hectares can generate more than 1 billion kWh of electricity per year, and can also take into account a certain amount of agriculture and animal husbandry.

Not to mention, at this time, everyone is still just talking about reducing carbon emissions, which can exceed hundreds of thousands of tons per year.

And how much land is available for solar thermal power generation in this Gobi?

There are at least tens of thousands of square kilometers of suitable areas.

At this time, Yi Yun, who had driven Zhang Xingyang and them over before, suddenly interjected:

"The investment in this solar thermal power station will not be very small, right?"

"How long will it take to pay for itself?"

The question is practical.

If it is not able to generate economic benefits, then this is nothing more than a modern spectacle.

"The investment in the entire molten salt tower power station will be around one billion."

"Based on the amount of electricity generated by today's sunlight, this power station can generate at least 1.2 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity per year."

"The annual income is around 400 million, and after deducting various fixed costs, the net profit is about 100 million."

Zhang Xingyang slowly told everyone the results of his previous calculations, while looking at the people in front of him with a look of disbelief.

"In less than 10 years, the plant will be able to recoup its costs."

From the perspective of ordinary people, it seems like a long time to recover the cost in ten years.

However, in the field of power generation, longer than this abounds, and it will take almost all wind power to pay for itself in 20 years.

"Ten years!"

Yi Yun looked at the Gobi Desert, which is still empty, as if he had seen the scene of its prosperity ten years later.

At that time, there would be countless towers here, and the light above them would be like dragon balls.

Under the mirrored surface of the Gobi surface, the breeze blows through the tall corn green gauze tents and pastures.

Occasionally, you can see free-range sheep in the photovoltaic power station.

"If it can be done, it would be great."

After being silent for a long time, Captain Fu finally expressed his feelings.

That night, the crowd sang around the kerosene stove at the stall next door:

"It is the wind of the valley that blows our red flag"

"We had a flaming enthusiasm that overcame all fatigue and cold!"

Zhang Xingyang lay on his sleeping bag and looked into the pure night sky.

There is no light pollution in the Gobi, and the eyes are full of stars.

Isn't it because of such a group of down-to-earth people why we can climb the starry sky!

Listening to the singing, Zhang Xingyang slowly fell asleep.

(End of chapter)