Chapter 156: Giant Catastrophe
Sun Changhe, serving as the chief consultant for the Doomsday Plan, looked seriously at the report in front of him.
18.1TW of peak power means that during peak electricity consumption periods, an average of 18.1 billion kilowatt-hours will be used up every hour.
This number is already more than 7 times the global electricity consumption of his own era.
If not for the large-scale development of energy storage technology and clean energy technology, the human world would never be able to support a power grid of such enormous scale.
But now… even a power grid of such enormous scale is already showing signs of being unable to hold up?
Especially since the ion drilling equipment has not yet been put into operation.
This is truly an electricity tiger—no, it should be called an electricity whale.
It is estimated that on average, one ion drilling equipment plus supporting facilities has a peak power of around 1GW.
500 units starting up simultaneously would be 500GW. And this power is almost equivalent to half of the electricity consumption of the entire massive nation in his own era.
Nationwide, dozens or millions of factories, one city after another, billions of population— all the electricity demands for life, lighting, industry, etc., added together, are only equivalent to twice this number.
“We must activate the backup power stations.”
That researcher said solemnly to Sun Changhe: “Otherwise, our entire power grid might collapse due to these impacts, which would be a massive disaster for the world.”
Sun Changhe looked at him: “Brief me on the current situation of the backup power stations.”
“The main types of backup power stations are coal-fired and gas-fired ultra-supercritical units. Since the large-scale rollout of thorium-based molten salt reactor nuclear power station technology more than a decade ago, thermal power stations responsible for peak shaving have been largely shut down, with only a few thermal power stations kept as backups, operating at very low power.
Nowadays, the electricity generated by thermal power stations accounts for only about three thousandths of global electricity consumption.
But if they can be restored to full-power operation again, it is expected to boost generation capacity to around 2TW, fully capable of meeting all subsequent electricity demands.”
“In the short term, can we get these coal-fired power plants back to peak power?”
“For the circuitry, we can dispatch personnel for urgent modification and complete it within one month.
Equipment maintenance, inspection, and debugging can also be completed within one month.
For fuel, most coal mines and gas fields worldwide are currently shut down, with only a few maintaining production, and production volumes not high.
It is not realistic to increase output in the short term, but at this moment, large reserves of coal and natural gas used as industrial raw materials exist globally, and if urgently allocated, it would be sufficient to support coal-fired generator units for about 3 months.
Sun Changhe nodded slightly.
After 3 months, either humanity will have been annihilated, or the apocalypse will have passed. Being able to hold out for three months is completely sufficient.
“The only current obstacle is the technicians.”
That expert continued: “More than a decade ago, due to the massive shutdowns and production cuts of thermal power plants, a large number of thermal power experts were forcibly retired and dispersed into various industries.
Now, to reopen these coal-fired and gas-fired power plants, we must massively recruit them. And there may be too many variables in this.
You may not know, these people…”
He smiled bitterly: “These people are now the biggest opponents of clean energy plus nuclear circuitry, constantly linking up online, claiming that nuclear power has radiation and such, and propagating that the world government promoting nuclear power has ulterior motives and is colluding with aliens…”
Sun Changhe knew that switching from thermal power to nuclear power was the trend of the times. History marches forward powerfully, and no one can defy this law.
But from a personal perspective, having worked in thermal power plants for a dozen or even decades, only for them to shut down or cut production, and being forcibly retired, with a lifetime of hard-earned knowledge turning into waste—this kind of disparity is extremely hard to accept.
It is understandable to have resentment and complaints.
Now… oh, they discarded us like worn-out shoes when they didn’t need us before, and now that they need us, they come begging us to come out of retirement, treating us like toilet paper?
Arrogant before, obsequious after—nothing more than that.
Sun Changhe closed his eyes, remained slightly silent for a moment, then opened his eyes and spoke slowly: “Go recruit them. They will agree.”
“Director Sun, you don’t know…”
That expert was somewhat anxious. Sun Changhe interrupted him directly without waiting for him to finish: “I understand them.
I will report this matter to the decision-making council and make a recommendation. You go ahead with the preliminary preparations.”
“Yes.”
……
Five days later, several buses loaded with thermal power experts, technicians, and engineers stopped in front of a thermal power station that was already somewhat abandoned.
The buses stopped, and middle-aged and elderly people—the youngest at least over 50, with quite a few having full heads of silver hair—got off, looking at the massive condensing tower in front of them, their gazes full of emotion.
“Hey, I say Old Zhao, didn’t you say back then that the world government had ulterior motives and that you would never trust the world government in this lifetime? How come you’re here too?”
“Old Li, you have the nerve to call me out—weren’t you the one who stirred us up to sign the joint petition? And you’re here too?”
The group of middle-aged and elderly people teased each other and then fell silent.
“I, I actually never opposed nuclear power.
I just opposed shutting down the thermal power stations.
I know that nuclear power replacing thermal power is the trend of the times—I know all that. But I studied thermal power my whole life, and suddenly in the second half of my life I became useless, with everything I learned becoming worthless. I, I just can’t accept it…”
In the long silence, an old expert spoke as if to himself.
Everyone felt a pang in their hearts.
“I just never imagined that in our lifetime we could see the day thermal power plants restart, the day our knowledge is useful again, and moreover, used for something as big as fighting aliens. Hey, us old bones still have use, and big use at that—never expected it.”
“Old buddies, no more words— this might be the last time in our lives we get to use this knowledge, so let’s do it well, don’t drag the young people down, don’t let the young people look down on us, show those young folks that we’re useful too!”
“Alright, after this job, I won’t have any other wishes. If we survive the apocalypse, I’ll go home and live well with my wife.”
“Sigh, times are advancing, what we learned is outdated. Being able to play a role one more time, I have no regrets.”
Amid sentence after sentence of emotion, the middle-aged and elderly people walked toward the long-absent, somewhat dilapidated control building ahead like warriors heading to the battlefield.
Ahead, the young technicians urgently dispatched by the world government were already there to welcome these old predecessors.
