You promised to build cars, so why did you go into the military industry?

In late March, a letter from the State Grid Corporation of China alarmed Wang Bing and others.

"In order to achieve the self-determination target of 'reducing carbon emission intensity per unit of GDP by 40%-45% by 2020 compared to 2005'..." Guo Shuyan read aloud from the letter in her hand, glancing at Li Ran with surprise, "After research, it has been decided to build a solar photovoltaic power generation array with an installed capacity of over 5GW in a certain Gobi Desert region in Northwest China..."

This is a letter of invitation to tender!

The people's admiration for Li Ran was beyond words; it turned out that the last piece of the puzzle was carbon emission rights!

"An investment of 800 billion yuan, what a bold move! That's incredibly impressive!" Wang Bing exclaimed as he flipped through the letter.

"Although our product has a significant lead over our competitors, we shouldn't let our guard down." Li Ran tapped the table, drawing everyone's attention. "Wang Bing, you'll be leading the team this time. The project's internal code name is 'Xiangyun' (Auspicious Cloud)."

"no problem!"

Two months later, United Industries was informed that it had won the bid and would enter a one-month public announcement period.

During the public announcement period, Li Ran would receive a group of leaders who came to conduct research and inspection almost every two days.

The power system, built at a cost of 15 billion yuan, became a project that every leader specifically requested to inspect.

"Are you still upset about how much money you spent?" Zhao Jing teased softly.

Li Ran remained silent, only expressing her happiness.

He casually picked up the "Xiangyun" project planning document, which he had read countless times, and began to read it in comparison with the specific construction requirements sent by the State Grid.

Unlike the previous one, this solar photovoltaic power generation array is not only ridiculously large in scale from the start, but also different in terms of construction location and operation mode.

Due to limitations in the performance of solar photovoltaic panels, the first large-scale photovoltaic power station was built next to a hydroelectric power station.

Hydropower stations leverage their rapid regulation capabilities to mitigate the volatility of photovoltaic power generation and achieve stable grid connection.

Incidentally, the use of photovoltaic pumped storage technology has greatly enhanced the reservoir's water storage and water allocation capabilities.

However, this time, United Industrial Construction developed a prototype power system in its own factory.

This refers to the integrated photovoltaic and energy storage model that combines a solar photovoltaic power generation array with lithium iron phosphate battery energy storage.

This makes the idea of ​​building large-scale solar photovoltaic power generation arrays in remote areas and achieving grid-connected power generation without interference a reality.

As for why the Northwest Gobi Desert was chosen?

To put it another way, the average annual sunshine hours in the Gobi Desert region of Northwest China is 3200-3400 hours.

The annual total solar radiation is 5000-6400 MJ/m².

What about the Central Plains region? The average annual sunshine hours are 1505-2644 hours.

The annual total solar radiation is 4300-5000 MJ/m².

Not to mention the coastal areas, which are under the influence of the East Asian monsoon and have a maritime climate, where the annual solar radiation is not much different from that of the Central Plains.

Moreover, coastal areas are economically developed, and every inch of land is extremely valuable.

Building such a large power plant, which is large in scale but low in efficiency for them, on such a large site is too extravagant and wasteful.

However, for the Gobi Desert region in Northwest China, it is not only a region rich in solar energy resources, but also a region that is uninhabited!

This kind of area is simply a natural paradise for solar photovoltaic power generation arrays.

It wasn't that we didn't want to develop it before, it was that we lacked the capability.

Now that we have the ability, we can't waste it.

Based on the solar photovoltaic panels provided by United Industries with a photoelectric conversion efficiency of 40%, the theoretical annual total power output in the uninhabited Gobi Desert in Northwest China is 555.56-711.11 kWh/m².

The first phase of the Xiangyun Project, which is planned to cover an area of ​​approximately 60,000 mu, will have a theoretical installed capacity of approximately 7GW upon completion.

However, due to limitations such as actual installation angle, sunlight duration and intensity, and the cleanliness of photovoltaic module surfaces, the estimated installed capacity is 5.5GW, with an annual power generation of approximately 222 billion kilowatt-hours.

It is equivalent to one-fifth of the Three Gorges Dam;

It can meet the needs of 275 million households for one year;

This is equivalent to saving 286.33 million tons of raw coal;

Carbon dioxide emissions were reduced by 786.32 million tons.

"Unbelievable! They're even using the Three Gorges Dam as a unit of measurement!" Li Ran exclaimed, clicking his tongue as he looked at the document.

Soon after, United Industries received a batch of power grid renovation contracts ranging in cost from 3 million to 10 billion yuan.

The signing of this batch of contracts brought a significant boost to United Industries' cash flow.

With the increased cash flow, many people within the company who were hoping to earn a living also came.

"Mr. Li, you know me, I never do things I'm not sure I can do," Wang Bing said in a deep voice.

Looking at Wang Bing, and then at Su Qing and Lin Yu behind him, Li Ran shakily signed his name on the "Semiconductor Development Plan".

"Don't worry, Mr. Li!" Su Qing reassured him. "With our foundation in solar photovoltaic panels, producing qualified monocrystalline silicon ingots won't be difficult for us."

"What about lithography machines?" Li Ran sighed. "The outer space environment is full of high-energy particles and cosmic rays, so in order to prevent the 'single event effect,' chip manufacturing processes are generally not advanced, basically between 65-250nm."

可据我所知，当前我们能买到的光刻机应该是魔都微电子的SSB500/10A光刻机，其精度为0.8~2μm，也就是800~2000nm。

"You guys...you're not really planning to change it yourselves, are you?"

Wang Bing gave Li Ran a strange look:

Why not just order the SSX600 series directly?

The 90nm process chips it produces are more than enough for us.

If needed, a 45nm process chip obtained through two exposures is also an option.

And the price isn't expensive either, only fifteen million US dollars.

Upon hearing Wang Bing's words, Li Ran immediately sat up straight and began to look at the calendar.

Tuesday, April 2011, 7.

Okay, I guess I got the date wrong.

That's fine.

Before the public announcement period had even ended, in mid-June, Gao Jingming had already led a team to the Gobi Desert in Northwest China.

Because of the strong winds and sandstorms in the Gobi Desert during spring and autumn, and the extreme temperature differences between summer and winter, the effective construction period throughout the year is very short, usually only 6-8 months.

Therefore, in order to make the most of the work time, frontline workers who took precautions against the sun adopted an "early to work and late to return" pattern on the construction site, working day and night.

As for noon? Of course, we rest in air-conditioned rooms. After all, the ground temperature in the area can soar to 70-80°C at noon, which is unbearable.

Upon arrival, the Gobi Desert welcomed Gao Jingming and his team with hot winds carrying sand and dust.

As soon as the car door opened a crack, an old man with a dark and lean face, wearing a red safety helmet, quickly stepped forward and squeezed in.

"Everyone, don't rush to get off the bus. Here, use this to seal your cuffs, trouser legs, and other things tightly. There's a lot of sand and dust here, so you don't end up eating sand later."

Gao Jingming accepted the tape handed to him by Professor Wang Lijian and expressed his gratitude.

"Thank you, Professor Wang."

Seeing that everyone quickly sealed and reinforced the clothing with tape, Professor Wang Lijian reminded them again:

"Put on your helmets, everyone. We're ready to go."

On the way to the inner camp, Gao Jingming looked at the nearby equipment with some concern:

"Professor Wang, this sandstorm is much bigger than I expected. How can we ensure the cleanliness and maintenance of the photovoltaic modules' surfaces?"

Pointing to the large pipes being laid at the construction site, Professor Wang Lijian explained:

"See? The supporting water supply network is being built in sync with the infrastructure."

The water we use here is treated recycled water, which is more than enough for daily cleaning and maintenance, and it doesn't compete with agriculture or livestock for water.

Then he pointed to the construction site next door and said:

"The construction site next door is the third sewage treatment plant built by the local government. Domestic sewage from nearby counties will be sent here for purification through underground pipe networks."

Our industrial water will then be supplied directly by this plant, free of charge.