WATER-POWER DEVELOPMENT.

Otago Witness, Issue 2928, 27 April 1910, Page 18

WATER-POWER DEVELOPMENT.

NEW ZEALAND PR3SPECTS. (From Our Own Correspondent.) LONDON, March 4. Mr W. Lancelot Moore, of Christchuroh, who has been, away fro en New Zealand for three and a-half years, hopes to be returning this summer in order to represent his firm, Messrs Boving and Company, waterpower engineers, in the Dominion. Mr Moore has spent the greater part of the last three years in Scotland, Norway, and Sweden, making a special study of waterpower developments and turbine machinery, matters in which the Dominion takes apractical interest. Sweden is an important country from a hydraulic engineer's point of v'ew on account of the tremendous development which has taken place in the last few years in low-pressure water schemes. There is hardly a stream or river in the whole country which is not working some sort of mill or factory while every village of more than about 400 or 500 inhabitants has its electric light from the same source. While in Sweden Mr Moore was connected with the largest firm of turbine-makers in the country, and spent some time at the Trollhattan Falls, where they are erecting several turbines of 12,500 horse-power each for the State Railways. Mr Moore says that Sweden in many ways reminds him of New Zealand, and his experience there should be of great utilty in the Dominion, where the opportunity for water-power development is practically unlimited in regard to town needs, dairy factories, saw mills, mining, and the like. One has only to go through the files of a New Zealand paper, he says, to see that the people are becoming alive to the importance of this subject. Already some large schemes have been carried out, notably one for the Dunedin City Council, and other largo undertakings are under discussion. Mr Moore's opinion, gathered from Sweden, is that much more can be done by utilising the rivers with a small fall of anything from 20 to 100 horse-power. He has great faith in low-pressure water schemes, and thinks that New Zealand should make greater use of her waterpower than has hitherto been the case. In Sweden the water-power has been in the hands of private people, whom the Government its now buying out, whereas in New Zealand such power has always been reserved by Government. It may be said that up to the present Government has not encouraged to any large extent the use of small waterways for this purpose, but there seems no reason to doubt that, if localities could show a really practical low-water pressure scheme they would receive sympathetic Government assistance. New Zealand could utilise her waterways to very considerable advantage. If properly worked, a. low-pressure scheme is just as • economical as a high-pressure scheme, and New Zealand could profitably copy the example of Sweden, and introduce, where desirable, low-pressure schemes. In the large majority of cases

the running cost is very much less than with coal Mr Moore's firm —Messrs Boving and Co., of Old Broad street —-are at present manufacturing turbines for Winnipeg and Calgary, and a pumping plant for Toronto. They have also installed several plants in Japan, and now propose to turn .their attention to New Zealand. One of th'jir biggest high water schemes has been carried out in Scotland, near Loch Leven, for supplying electric current for the furnaces of the British Alufinium Company. Two companies have also been recently started in ' Norway for making artificial manure from the nitrogen in the air, Mr Moore thinks of making his headquarters at Wellington. ,