POWER SOURCES

Otago Daily Times, Issue 26413, 18 March 1947, Page 6

POWER SOURCES

SOUTH ISLAND PLANS MINISTER REPORTS PROGRESS P.A. CHRISTCHURCH. Mar. 17. Details of the hydro-electric power schemes planned and in course of construction for the South Island were given, this morning by the Minister in charge of the State Hydro-electricity Department, Mr Semple. Cabinet had lately approved an expenditure of £2.000,000 on the Cobb River scheme, which would serve the Nelson and Marlborough area, and had directed that the work should proceed immediately, he said. The Minister said a vigorous start had been made on the construction of the barrage to store the water in Lake Pukaki, to increase the amount of power which would be made available from Waitaki station. In the short time since work had been com- . menced. rapid progress had been achieved by using Diesel-driven excacation equipment for the sluiceway structure. As- the excavation was completed last week, work on the structure should be commenced almost immediately. ...... Referring to the development of the Molyneux Rivef at Coal Creek, Mr Semple said the preliminary investigations to determine the best site were well in hand, and it should be possible within the next few months to decide the exact location .of the dam and to fix its dimensions and other* characteristics. “This dam,” he said, “will be by a long way the largest so far constructed in New Zealand, and its development will rank afnong the large hydro-electric schemes of, the world.” . ... . Expressing satisfaction with the tun-. x netting progress being made on the Tekapo scheme, the Minister said there was, however, a reasonable prospect that the speed of this work might be still further increased to a point where it would exceed anything so far achieved in a tunnel of comparable size.