New-York tribune., 1900-04-09
WHOLESALE POWER PRODUCTION.


Efforts have been made in England for sew
eraI years past to secure Parliamentary sanction
for the esta blishment of plants for the genera
ton of electricity on a large scale. Each or
these projects contemplated supplying not a
single locality or consumer, but an area en-
bracipg a number of centres Of population and
capable of providing a great variety of uses for
electricity. In this respect these schemes are
comparatively novel to the English people, and
run counter to prejudices favorable to an exclu-
svely municipal exercise Of certain privileges.
Apart from this phase of the matter, however,
there has been little objection, and there is a
fair prospect that some of the plans here re-
ferred to will at this session of Parliament
receive the desired authorization.
The idea of developing electricity at one point
fer varied industrial uses and a wide extent of
territory is no novelty in America. At Niagara
Falls, for instance, there is an enormous local
consumption for manufacturing purposes. to say
nothing of electric lighting and the operation of
street railways. But the output is sufficient to
permit the transmission of many thousand horse
power to Buffalo. fifteen miles away, where n
good many customers are found besides the
light and traction companies. Out on the Pa
cfc Coast and on the Continent of Europe the
same thing may be witnessed, though less
magnificent scale.
Nevertheless two features of the British
projects are more or less original. In the first
place, the latter contemplate the of steam
power Most Of the other great plants alluded
to rely water power. To be sure, one of
London's electric light companies gets its
rent from steam driven dynamos at Deptford
eleven miles away. In New-York City, too
there similar power houses established pri-
marily to operate light railways. but fur
nshing a limited amount of current to num-
her of shops and automobile charging stations
and employing steam to run their generators
But these are local affairs They serve single
communities only. The plants which it is pro-
posed to establish In Yorkshire. Durham. Lanca-
shire and South Wales will each supply dozen
or more places. Some of the districts that will
be thus served are hundreds of square miles in
extent. Moreover in one or more of these cases
the engines and dynamoS will be placed beside
the mouth of a coal mine. The cost of fuel
transportation will thus be saved There has
been much talk in the United States of attempt
ing something of the sort, but far without
result 1t would not be surprising if England
We're the first to realize the idea, after ALL
Still another method of reducing the cost of
generating electricity has been suggested by
Mr.. Westinghouse. If instead of burning coal
under the boilers of steam engine one were to
convert it into gas and utilize the product in
gas engine he might get more power out of the
same amount of carbon. In fact piles of coal
dust that are now unmarketable might be turned
to account in this manner. Thus a double
economy would be achieved. AS yet however
there are signs that an extensive trial of this
system will be undertaken in the near future on
either side of the Atlantic