WATER POWER.

Lyttelton Times, Volume CXX, Issue 14915, 10 February 1909, Page 7

WATER POWER.

WAIMAKARIRI POSSIBILITIES. REMARKS BY AN EXPERT. EXPERIENCE IN GENEVA. Although tho City Council has not seen its nay to take any decided action in regard to tho “ harnetsing ” of tlio Waimakariri, Christchurch residents wire have interested themselves in tlie matter have been active, and some interesting information has been secured bearing upon tho project. This information will be available when the Council has removed from its path the obstacles raised by the 'Water Supply Board and tho other local authorities. Quito recently a Christchurch resident has been in communication with one of the leading hydraulic engineers- of Great Britain with regard .to the question of water-power electrical plants. The engineer in question has been prominently associated with a number of -the largest modern power installations, notably that of tho British Aluminium Company, whose 36,000 horse-power installation at Kinlochleven is one of tho finest and most elaborate installations in the world. The Christchurch correspondent drew his attention to the opposition to uio Waimakariri scheme which had been displayed in some quarters in Christchurch, and sent him tho published criticism of the electrical undertakings connected with the city of Genova plants. “ I must say I am very much surprised,” -wrote the engineer, “ that a country such as New Zealand should bo so bard to convince of tho enormous uses of water-power. As regards tho Geneva installation, it is a bold statement to say that this is a failure. Tho city of Geneva is supplied by several power stations, and the ono which was referred to in one of your newspapers is the very oldest plant, laid down by Colonel Turretini long before hydroelectric power transmission had been properly developed. However, the municipal hydro-electric undertaking of Geneva is, on the whole, paying exceedingly well, and tho city is drawing a larger revenuo from it each year. “I will now give some figures from a country where conditions arc very much tho same as in yours, name’y, Sweden. Tho size of Sweden is about two and a half times that of Great Britain, with a population of only 6,000,000. The climate is probably a little harsher than yours, but tho conditions of rainfall and the change of seasons, are very much tho same. Thero is about five and a half million horse-power available in the streams and rivers of Sweden, of which at present about 700,000 horso-power is actually used for industrial purposes. New hydroelectric plants aro, however, being constructed every day on a large scale, partly by private undertakings, and partly by tlie Government itself. There are hundreds of private power companies in the country, and. I do not know of any single one which is not paying its way very well indeed. In fact, some power companies pay such dividends as 12 per cent and 15 per .cent, and have been doing so regularly for over ten years. “I am also sending you a list of the turbines which represent orders in hand at October 1, 1908, at tho-en-gineering works of Messrs Vorkstaden, Kristiuehamn, Sweden, which works are under my control. I send you this list as it is a strong proof of what, is going on in Sweden. The Swedish Government has resolved to electrify great parts of the railways, and all the power will be supplied from waterfalls. One small section, is already working, and a large section in the north will be constructed during 1909. If, therefore, some people of your country have pessimistic tendencies with regard to hydro-electric undertakings, these can only bo attributed to utter ignorance of tho matter. Even in this country where coal is so enormously cheap, it pays to put down water-power plants, and 1 have just complotod an installation at Kinlochlevon in Scotland, for the British Aluminium Company, where there are eleven turbines, each 3300 horse-power, in one power station, and still tho price of coal is only 10s a ton. “ I would like to give you hero an approximate figure for the total power derived from hydro-olectrio installations in Europe at the present date. This figure is, of course, not accurate, but I certainly state it very low when I give it at 4,000.000 horso-power. The list of turbines for use in connection with water-power oloetrical plants now being manufactured at tho ivories of Messrs Verkstaden, Kristinehamn, Sweden shows that they amount to 80,586 horse-power, most of which are for installation in connection with Swedish plants.”