Chapter 67: The Essence Of Technology Is Boiling Water |
In the evening, when Chicurel from the Namibian Department of Investment had paid Chen Chen another visit, Chen Chen informed him of the site's location.
Although Chicurel appeared a little worried, he still smiled and said that he would report Chen Chen's proposal to the Parliament.
As for whether the Department of Investment and the Ministry of Environmental Protection would disagree over this or even battle each other in Parliament to determine the outcome, it did not concern Chen Chen.
In the following days, Chen Chen declined the Namibian officials' offer to accompany him. He brought along only Qian Wenhuan and the rest to visit the tourist attractions in Namibia.
Even in the entire African Continent, Namibia was considered a country with the most developed tourism industry. Tourist attractions and wildlife sanctuaries could be seen everywhere —
The sacred mountain known as Spitzkoppe Mountain, featuring the world-famous Rock Arch, appeared stately and magnificent under the night sky studded with stars.
In the vast desert, there was the quiver tree unique to Africa, whose branches stretched to the sky like a palm demanding something from the heavens.
There was also the breathtaking sight of the yellow sand flowing into the great sea. On one side, the endless desert and on the other, the blue misty sea. Two initially unrelated landscapes were seamlessly integrated like a symphony of sea and sand…
The sparse population meant that there were plenty of undeveloped natural landscapes. Coupled with spring-like temperatures and a political situation that was more stable than its neighbors, this had become the most popular country for tourism in Africa.
Both mines were located in the Namib Desert of Western Namibia. The Husab Uranium Mine was sixty kilometers away from the coastal city of Swakopmund and the Rössing Uranium Mine was located ten kilometers to the south of Arandis.
Among the two mines, Husab ranked third in the world in terms of uranium resource reserves, totaling up to 286,000 tons. It could produce 6,500 tons of triuranium octoxide each year, ranking second in the world.
The Rössing Uranium Mine had an annual output of 2500 tons, ranking fifth in the world.
After his tour around, Chen Chen's heart felt significantly heavier on the way back.
After preliminary contact and discussion, the quotations given by China General Nuclear Power Group and China National Nuclear Corporation were almost the same. If Chen Chen wanted to build a nuclear power plant with a generating capacity of 1 million kilowatts in the southern part of Walvis Bay, it would roughly cost 14 billion RMB.
That was about 2 billion USD.
This was much higher than the market price because of material transportation.
The building materials needed for nuclear power plants were impossible to find within the African industry. They must be transported by sea from Mainland China. With a few round trips across a 15,000-kilometer distance, the cost would naturally increase.
Of course, this referred to the price of a third-generation nuclear power plant, CAP1400, which was an improved version of the AP1000 technology imported from North American to Mainland China.
Generally speaking, the reactors of nuclear power plants were categorized as "light water reactors" and "heavy water reactors". "Heavy water reactors" were essentially not used in China, which had always used "light water reactors".
"Light water reactors" were further classified as "pressurized water reactors" and "boiling water reactors".
The CAP1400 was a sort of "passive pressurized water reactor". First, the nuclear fuel underwent fission, producing an immense amount of heat. Then, this heat energy was transferred out using highly pressurized water. A generator turned this to steam that propelled the steam turbine and electricity was continuously produced.
As distinct from the second-generation reactor, the third-generation CAP1400's biggest feature was its simple design and easy operation. It was simpler and more effective than traditional nuclear reactors, further improving the safety of nuclear power plants.
As for the "boiling water reactor", it was enough to look at what happened at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant.
Besides its higher level of safety, the other reason Chen Chen had selected CAP1400 was that the third-generation nuclear power plant could use modular technology in the construction process, thus significantly shortening the construction period. It could begin officially operating in just 18 months.
Still, after understanding how these nuclear power plants worked, Chen Chen could not help but sigh. No wonder people on the Internet always mocked that "the essence of human technology is boiling water and finding ways to boil water more effectively."
The only aspect that Chen Chen was not satisfied with was the reactor's output.
A one-million-kilowatt nuclear power plant sounded impressive but in fact, it was only equivalent to 10MVA. The average electricity requirement was 8kW per household, with three people per household. Even at half the rate of consumption, this would only supply 750,000 people with daily electricity.
Besides, Chen Chen was not generating electricity for its own sake. His true purpose in building a nuclear power plant was to charge the USB drive. Therefore, even after the nuclear power plant was built, Chen Chen would have to skim off some of the output, perhaps even more than half of it, on a regular basis.
Thus, a one-million-kilowatt nuclear reactor was inadequate. Chen Chen hoped to expand it to two million!
It looked like the loan and the release plan for the new product could not be put off any longer.
As Chen Chen considered all this while sitting in a four-wheel off-road vehicle, he absentmindedly looked out the window.
The strong breeze over the open plain swept across his face, creating a cooling sensation. At the moment, the sun had already set over the horizon, leaving only the crimson afterglow of twilight reflected in the sky.
The sky and the earth darkened gradually. The villages that occasionally appeared on the fringes of the road had also built their fires.
"Electricity" was a product that had become a part of human daily life in the 21st century, yet in this wild, undeveloped nation, it was still a luxury…
Who would have thought that Namibia, so full of uranium mines and incomparably rich in rare-earth resources, relied on imports for 70% of its electricity?
Namibia's annual GDP was only 14 billion USD. The top twenty percent of wealthy white people here accounted for eighty percent of the country's total income. 60% of the banks were controlled by foreign capital and the ordinary folk generally lived below the poverty line.
Developing a nuclear power plant required capital and technology. The Namibian officials simply did not have the financial resources.
The country's economy was underdeveloped, their funds were insufficient, and they lacked the necessary technology for developing nuclear energy. Due to all these factors, the entire country suffered from a serious power shortage. They could only sit on their treasure trove of uranium mines but had no other means.
Due to the perennial power shortage, the Namibian government was forced to introduce a policy called the "Modified Single Buyer framework". This encouraged qualified independent power manufacturers to sell electricity directly to their people, instead of the current situation where everything was controlled by the Namibian power utility company.
From this, one could see how far the officials had been pushed to the brink.
Even so, they were considered to be a smart, powerful government in the African Continent. They did not even have a resistance army within their borders. Unlike other countries, which were endlessly plagued by wars and warlords — forget about development, even peace and stability were a luxury.
However, it was precisely because of this that Chen Chen's intention to build a nuclear power plant instantly caused an uproar in the Parliament.
After all, the financial investment for a single nuclear power plant alone exceeded the total foreign trade of Namibia throughout the year.
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