HARNESSING THE TIDES

Northern Advocate, 27 May 1921, Page 4

HARNESSING THE TIDES

•FRENCH SCHEME FOR NEW SOURCE OF POWER. A statement on the question of pressing tides of the sea into the service of man made in the French Senate toy M. L. Trocquer, Minister of Public Worfcs, has evoked considerable interest iboth in and outside Parliament, says a Reuter message from Paris. A commission wag appointed two years ago to consider the question of how France can utilise what the Minister termed "the 'blue coal." and, according , to M. Le Trocquer. this commission is on the verge of solving the problem. •Up to now, he said, only very moderate results had been obtained from the system of constructing artificial reservoir s in the sea <by means of barrages, and utilising the emptying: of such reservoirs for the production of power, this lack of success being due to the inconstancy of the power obtained. The idea wa s there, j fore conceived of having recourse to a series of inter-connected reservoirs, acting as regulators.-which! would permit of a fairly constant' supply of power 'being obtained at: any period of the tide. It remained to find a type of turbine engine to work in water, and resistant to sea water. A competition was therefore opened. "This has j ended favourably," declared the Minister, "and the prize has gone to a French firm. Under these circumstances manufacturers are now considering the practical carrying out of the project. We have had applications for concessions, and soundings are at present ibeing made- with a view 'to using the estuary of the Ranee. I therefore see no abjection to the necessary credits being made the subject of a special Bill, to which I hope Parliament will give a good ' reception.", ,