FIORD POWER PLAN

Dominion, Volume 19, Issue 100, 22 January 1926, Page 8

FIORD POWER PLAN

A NITRATE SCHEME LICENSED TO YIELD 300,000 H.P. NOT ABOVE Id. PER UNIT

SMITH SOUND WATERS PLUS LAKE MANAPOURI According to notice in the “Gazette,” licenses have been granted by the Governor-Gen-eral to Gerald Fitzgerald and others to use for electrical purposes water from (I) the falls, rivers, or streams discharging into Deep Cove, or any other part of Smith Sound; and from (2) Lake Manapouri, in the Fiord County. No. 1 is expected to be the basis of an immediate development of 50,000 horsepower, while from the lake (No. 2), it is expected to ultimately develop 250.000 horse-power, making 300,000 horse-power in all—“the largest water power scheme in the Southern Hemisphere,” it is claimed.

The Lake Manapouri development will require a tunnel “about 61 miles in length and over 30 feet in diameter.” The total expenditure contemplated is set down at not less than five millions. The period of each of the two licenses is sixty years, but at any time after thirty years the Government may purchase, at an agreed-on or arbitrated price, subject to conditions laid down. Various time-permits are specified for progress and completion of the undertaking, among which the following may be mentioned: The first (or Smith

Sound) license, will cease if the licensees, within seven years, have not developed 25,000 kilowatts or spent at least £lOO,OOO. The second (Lake Manapouri) license, will cease unless at least 50,000 horse-power is developed within fifteen years. The charge for electrical energy supplied at the licensees’ power-house shall not exceed Id. per unit. There is provision for protection of birds and wild animal life, and against disfigurement of natural features. Mr. A. L. Hunt, a member of the “New Zealand Sounds Nitrates Syndicate,” who carried out the negotiations with the Government, told a Dominion reporter that the syndicate that has obtained the licenses consists of the following business men : Sir James G. Wilson, Messrs. Gerald Fitzgerald (chairman), J. Orchiston, A. L. Hunt, L T. Watkins, W. D. Hunt, P. Levi, C. E. Daniell, H. R. Young, and J. G. Neil. A Former Scheme.

"In 1923,” said Mr. Leigh Hunt, “negotiations were opened up with the Minister of Public Works (Rt. Hon. J. G. Coates) on behalf of the syndicate. The application was then made for the powers from Bowen Falls, in Milford Sound, about 20,000 horsepower. It was hoped to later secure other powers nearby. Considerable public opposition was raised, although no damage would have been done to the locality, and three-fourths of the falls would still have fallen over its regular course during the tourist season. About the middle of last year, application was made for 50,000 horsepower in Deep .Cove, Doubtful Inlet, with a further 250,000 horse-power'from Lake Manapouri any time within ten rears. The license was signed by His Excellency the Governor-General on January 12, 1926. Flotation of Company. "It is proposed to immediately float a parent or development company with a capital of £20,000 for the purpose of completing the preparation of data and submitting the scheme to investors in Britain. The electric energy developed will be utilised on the spot for the manufacture of nitrates from the air and other electro-chemical industries which require cheap power. The origination of the proposal to manufacture nitrates from the air in New Zealand

is due to Mr. J. Orchiston, M.1.E.E., late Chief Engineer N.Z. Government Telegraph Department. Power Cost*. "A rough estimate of the average cost of power fro mtlie various sources is £1 ss. per horse-power year, is £1 ss. per horse-power per year. Nowhere in the world, excepting in Norway (where the powers are situated nearly 100 miles inland, with expensive transport costs), has power been produced at so low a cost. The cheapest scheme operating in New Zealand is about £5 10s., while Niagara averages a little under £4 per horsepower year. The conduits of all the powers ’in Deep Cove will discharge within one mile of a splendid deep water harbour, having a depth of water of about 80 fathoms (480 feet). An area of some 300 acres of flat laud faces the waters of Deep Cove, on which the works and village will be established. Nitrate of Lime.

• “The whole area was last month investigated by a party of experts, and the partv were fortunate enough to locate, within half a mile of the proposed works site, a large deposit of excellent marble, analysing 98 per cent, of carbonate of lime. Lime is used in the manufacture of nitrate of lime, the only other essential being cheap electrical power and air. Nitrate of lime is one of the most valuable of fertilisers, ami is wanted in rapidlv increasing quantities bv all wheat and sugar-growing countries, besides being essential in all general agriculture. “The rainfall at Doubtful Inlet is estimated at from 200 to 250 inches pet vear, and this, together with the melting snows of summer, ensures a neverfailing location for water-power development. One of the water powers acquired by the syndicate drops from an elevation of over 3000 feet. Lake Manapouri, some 50 square miles in extent, is 1100 feet deep, being 600 feet above •ind 800 feet below sea level. “Nitric acid, produced in the manu-

facture of nitrates, is the base of all high explosives, and as the British Empire at present has no internal supply for this purpose, the proposed industry offers large possibilities, regarding the munitioning of the Singapore base and the defence of British possessions in the Pacific. This is the first occasion in New Zealand where any large water power has been leased, to private enterprise, and is a clear indication of the determination of the present Government to develop to the full the Intent resources of the Dominion. - Mr. Hunt added that when the undertaking was in full operation the water rentals payable to the New Zealand Government would be over £lO,OOO per annum,