I thought it was a very ugly expansion film, but after watching it, Yang Jing and his party were a little unsatisfied.If it weren't for the footage, Yang Jing wouldn't have known that the length of the dam at the entire Itaipu Hydropower Station hub was 7,744 meters, more than three times the length of the Three Gorges Dam.Although the main dam of the Itaipu Hydropower Station is only 1,064 meters, the height of this main dam has reached 196 meters, which is 11 meters higher than the height of the Three Gorges Dam, and is the highest dam in the world!
No wonder before he came, Comrade Xiao Wang said that the dam of the Itaipu Hydropower Station is even more spectacular than the Three Gorges Dam.In addition, the construction of the Itaipu Dam has added eight lakeside recreation areas to the upper Paraná River, so the local government in Brazil has brought in yellow sand to make it look like a beach, which is an added benefit of the dam project.In addition, the hydropower plant, which has 200,000 kilowatt generating units, is shared by Brazil and Paraguay, with Paraguay accounting for 10 generating units and Brazil accounting for 10 generating units.However, the electricity generated by two of the generator sets can provide 75 percent of the electricity consumption of the whole of Paraguay, so the electricity generated by the other eight generator sets belonging to Paraguay was sold to Brazilians.In fact, there have been dirty arguments between the two countries about this matter.The Paraná River is the second largest river in South America and the fourth largest river in the world by runoff.If such abundant water resources are not properly utilized, it will be a catastrophe.So the governments of Paraguay and Brazil sat down together and began to discuss, and I said buddy, you see that if we don't use such abundant water resources, God and his old man will not agree.Yes, buddy, why don't we develop the water resources of this harmony together!
So the two governments hit it off and decided to build the Itaipu hydroelectric power plant on the Paraná River.In 1984, the construction of the Itaipu hydropower plant was ready to begin, and according to the original agreement between the two countries, the two sides would each pay 50 yuan of start-up capital, and the future power generation would be divided equally between the two countries.This agreement is very good, but unfortunately, Paraguay is so poor, and if you ask them to come up with such a large amount of money, it is simply forcing the government of this country to hang themselves collectively!
So the Paraguayan government approached the Brazilian government and said, buddy, you see that we are in a bit of a difficult situation now, and we can't come up with so much money for the time being, but we can't delay the construction of the hydropower station, so buddy, you should give us some money!
When the Brazilian government heard this, it said without hesitation, no problem buddy, we are good brothers, isn't it just money, we will lend you!
As a result, Paraguay took out a loan from Brazil.Therefore, not only the start-up capital of the hydropower plant, but also the financing for the subsequent construction and operation of the hydropower plant, came from loans from the Brazilian side, totaling US$18 billion.According to the terms of both parties, Paraguay will have to repay the loan by 2023.In other words, all the money for the construction of the Itaipu hydropower plant came from Brazil.Therefore, it is natural for Brazil to want some benefits in the distribution of benefits in the end.In fact, for Paraguay, with a population of less than six million at the time, it was impossible to use up the 50 meters of electricity, and the actual electricity used by Paraguay each year was only 5 of the total electricity generated by Itaipu, that is, the electricity generated by a single generator set.The two sides then stipulated that Paraguay would sell the remaining 45 electricity to Brazil at cost price, and only to Brazilian electricity companies.Although Brazil paid Paraguay about $45 per million watt hours, Paraguay actually received only about $3, with the remaining $42 to pay off the debt it had borrowed from Brazil.This thing was originally very good, but it was terrible to be afraid of people's greed, and after a long time, Paraguay found that it was not cost-effective.Because although the money came from Brazil, Paraguay has been repaying the loan.This means that after 2023, Brazil will not only get back the cost, but will also be able to use energy at a very low price.At this time, many countries in South America wanted to buy Paraguay's excess electricity at market prices.However, due to the original regulations, Paraguay did not have the freedom to dispose of excess electricity resources, so Paraguay wanted to be able to sell the excess electricity freely, not only to Brazil, but also to increase the purchase price.But in the eyes of Brazilians, the Paraguayans are doing so purely on the part of a wolf's ambition!
As the saying goes, it's only natural to pay off debts, and the Itaipu hydropower plant brings Paraguay more than 4% of its gross national product, and 80% of the country's electricity consumption comes from it.Paraguay has not only solved its domestic energy problem through hydropower plants, but also has a huge income, which is a typical "white wolf with empty gloves".But that's it, you Paraguayans are not satisfied, and you want to further expand the income of hydropower plants, increase the price of electricity, and use Brazilians' money to earn Brazilians' money, and of course we Brazilians are not happy.This is the origin of the dispute between the two sides.However, the matter was eventually settled with the joint efforts of former Paraguayan President Lugo and former Brazilian President Lula.On July 25, 2009, then-Brazilian President Lula and Paraguayan President Lugo reached a new agreement in Asunción, Paraguay, on the Itaipu hydroelectric power plant, which is jointly owned by the two countries.Under the agreement, Brazil will significantly increase the price of electricity purchased from Paraguay and gradually allow Paraguay to sell electricity freely to Brazil without interference from the Brazilian electricity company.At this point, the dispute over the Itaipu hydropower station, which has long affected relations between the two countries, has come to an end for the time being.Through this incident, we can also see the truth that there are no eternal friends, only eternal interests!
After watching the film, the group got on the sightseeing bus, and according to Comrade Xiao Wang's reminder, Yang Jing and his party occupied the right side of the second floor of the bus.And when they had just sat down, and the bus had not yet started, there was a sound in the distance that seemed to be thunder.The crowd looked in the direction from which the sound came, but saw nothing but a rising mist.Xiao Wang said with a smile: "We have eyes this time, this sound must be the opening of the flood gate, and the reservoir has begun to discharge floods."
Don't worry, the flood discharge will not end in a while, let's take our time, and when we get to the flood channel, we can see the spectacular scenery of the flood discharge. ”The bus soon started and began to drive towards the inside of the hydropower station.It's almost four kilometers away from the dam in a straight line.However, the bus did not go directly to the dam, but stopped at a complex in the middle, Xiao Wang explained: "This is the first stop of the visit, because there is the Itaipu Ecological Museum, where you can see all the information about the Itaipu hydropower plant, even the miniature generator sets.It's also good to go in and have a look. ”Since you're here, don't say anything and follow along.So the group took a big turn in the ecological museum, and combined with the information film they saw before, Yang Jing and their understanding of the Itaipu Hydropower Station was deeper.After coming out of the museum, Gege pointed to a meadow on the bank of the Paraná River and exclaimed in surprise: "Look, what kind of animal is that?"
It's so cute" In that meadow, animals more than ten meters long and more than half a meter tall are lazily eating there, and a few little ones who are obviously young animals are following behind their mothers, moving carefully.These animals do look very cute, cute and stupid, no wonder Gege is a little overjoyed.Comrade Xiao Wang glanced at it and said, "Sister-in-law, that is the capybara, an animal endemic to South America."
However, this animal is the 'pig' raised by the locals in the water, and it is one of the main sources of meat for the locals. ”"Oh, how can the locals be willing to eat such a cute little animal?"
Gege was a little angry.Xiao Wang explained with a smile: "Sister-in-law, there is no way, capybaras can be artificially bred in South America, just like our domestic pigs."
This animal has a good meat production rate and tastes good, and it has long been an important source of meat for the locals, and we can't change that. ”Not long after the car walked forward, he saw the tall dam, and the bus stopped again, Xiao Wang said: "This is the first stop to take pictures, and you can see the whole main dam here." ”When everyone got out of the car, they immediately saw a huge robot welded with steel pipes.The white-painted robot holds a torch in its hand as if it is walking forward.After taking some photos here, the car went up to the dam, but in the middle of the dam, under the road was the generator set of the hydropower station.The dam doesn't seem to be very tall from a distance, but when you really walk on the two-way four-lane road at the top of the generator set, you can fully feel the majesty of the dam.The original huge double-decker sightseeing bus looks like a little mouse facing an elephant in front of this dam.The most striking thing about the dam is the 20 thick white aqueducts through which the water from the reservoir enters the turbines, which then turn them and start generating electricity.These 20 white pipes are so thick that the double-decker bus more than 10 meters long is not even half the thickness of a pipe!
Twenty thick pipes were lined up, and people stood in front of them, as small as a small ant."
Spectacular!
It's really spectacular!
”Although he couldn't get out of the car, even if he sat in the car, he could feel the majesty of the dam, and Gege was completely calmed.After crossing the main dam, the bus actually returned from Brazil to Paraguay.Then the bus walked some distance between the main dam and the flood gate, and finally came to the flood gate, which was being discharged!