The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1912-04-14
RICHMOND TO HAVE
CHEAP HYDROPOWER
Which Will Ensure Its Pri-
mocy as Manufacture
ing Center
GREAT DEVELOPMENT
is CONTEMPLATED
Virginia Railway and Power
Company Preparing to
Turn the Spindles of
Every Richmond
Factory

Richmond. a city without the curse
| of coal smoke. where the Shrek OF
| the steam whistle Is not heard, where
| the thousands of manufacturing
J spindfes are turned by silent power.
which can be purchased at approx
natssiy one-half the cost of the power
generated by the individual steam
! boiler plant. That IN the Ideal which
the officials OF the Virginia Railway
and Power Company are planning
| TO make reality.
Plans are now In contemplation by
the Virginia corporation for the de-
velopment OF enough electric power
to turn the spindies OF every manu-
| featuring spindle In Richmond. and
also to Urovfde for the many addi-
tional plants which will undoubtedly
be established as the weeks go by.
! Not only Will tho POKER be develop
ed, but 1t will be furnished 50 cheap
| ly that tho small steam plants
throughout the city will eventually
be abolished as matter of economy
/ OF operation.
At Just what rs,int this power will
| be developed and the details of the
I plans have not been announced as
| yet. The officials of the company
are working quietly and are pre-
| ferring to do the work and then do
| the talking That the plans are in
i contemplation Is known to be fact.
| and the details Will likely come out
| rs the work progresses. The bulk of
| the power will likely be developed
! on the Rappahannoek river near
| Fredericksburg. where the company
I now owns uuaeveloped power to the
extent OF about $4,000 horsepower.
| The company also ewns undeveloped
] power near Petersburg on the APP
/ ponattox and there will likely be
some development at this point.
| Auxiliary Steam Plant.
| The power will be transmitted TO
! Richmond at a high voltage and dis
| tributed to the consumers at "a price
| that VIII mean an immense saving
| In the largest expense account which
manufacturing concerns have to- meet.
There is now in process az construc-
ton at the foot OF Twelfth street an
auxiliary steam plant. At this plant
! there viii be installed Il steam turbine
capable OF developing from Is.oeo to
! 1000 kilowats. or $1,000 ~ $4,000
horsepower. The construction work
/ on the building has been actively be-
gun after a delay of several months
| on account Of wet weather. and the
plant viii be pushed TO immediate COM
i ple,ion. This plant win be used to rur-
nish power to the consumers of Rich
mond until the water power develop
! ments can be completed. On account
OF the uncertainty Of the water sup
ply II is necessary TO nave a steam
| plant to furnish supply when the
water power fails. and the Virginia
| Power Company decided to construct
/ this auxiliary plant first TO supply the
| pressing demands. and to give time
! for the completion OF the water power
| plants.
Plant Under Construction.
| The large financial interests which
| are behind the Virginia Railway and
| Power Company now have IN process
of construction hydro-electric plant
! ON the Rappahannock river near Fred
| erickshurg. The generators Will be,
| installed In this plant this week. and
| II is expected TO have them In active
| operation by the first of June. The nrss
| installation of generators in this new
plant will furnish 1000 ktlowats.
There Is also plant at Petersburg
which has been partly, constructed and
7 2wflfch. wifi Tikefy be fififsReH' AZ. an
early date. The company has now IN
| operation water driven generators at
Twelfth street. which furnish about
| 800 horse power water driven gene
4
about 5000 horsepower driven gen
! orators Mt the Twelfth street plant
1 which generate about $500 horsepower.
!. about 1000 horsepower avilable At
| the seventh street station. and anoth-
1 er 1000 at Petersburg. A total Ok sS
| miles of electric road - operated by
/ the company. and HIGHT and power
| plants are maintained at Hicnmonu
'"u smoke win Re Eliminated.
An Interesting point about the con-
| struction OF the new station AZ
| Twelfth street Is that there will alb
| solutely be no smoke. The stacks
| will be constructed in such man
! ner as to bring about perfect con-
| bustion, and all smoke will be elimi-
| mated. The steam turbine, which
/ will drive the generators.~ wifi In
| sure the maximum OF efficiency.
( A Battle OF Giants
| During the next decade, there -
going to be q mighty struggle Dc
| tween the giants OF coal generated
energy and hydro electric energy for
| the rulership for industry through
1 ont the Piedmont section. Already.
! the railroads are reducing the rates
4 on coal to the sections OF North and
! south Carolina, which are served
| nv the Southern Power Company.
| New railroads are being built into
| this section through the almost inn
passable Blue Ridge mountains In
/ order to bring the coal fields closer
| to tho factories which are rapidly
! abandoning stcam plants for hydro
electric power. The railroads see
/ their coal bushes gradually slip
/ ping from them, and they ara maxi
| ing frantic efforts to reduce the
| freight charges 70 ~ to bring tho
| cost OF coal generated energy down
| 10 tho level Of the price Of hydro
| electric energy.
lsIecsxicity WIN Conquer.
IN this 'struggle, which has al
| ready been precipitatsd. the rnys-
/ tsrious servant Of love y bound TO
Wtnt ovar the coal demon, Wh1ch has
~ LONG held ssvege GNny ever IN
4 1ae1y m ~ Alch-