Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1913-07-25
SUN POW
American Inventor Builds Solar Mo.
tor Plant in Egypt.

American Inventor Builds Solar Mo.
tor Plant in Egypt.
Frank Shuman, distinguished
American engineer, who recently
left London for Egypt, is making a
radical departure In the generation
Of natural power. He is going to
harness the sun to the Nile, says a
London letter. He has already in
stalled near Carlo 100-horsepower
sun plant for irrigation, and his pres
ent mission to Egypt is to complete
the installation and begin operations
almost Immediately.
Four times only in the history Of
the human race has the generation Of
power been the subject Of invention.
First came the windmill, then the
water wheel. The third departure.
and the greatest so far, was the COM
bustion Of fuel Now comes the use
Of the solar; rays, which II successful
and Mr.. Shuman says that success In
already assured-will be the most
complete revolution Of all, solving at
once for the tropics the problem Of
fuel, which In the past has been go
great handicap to renumerative Ia
Dor and which In the future, with the
diminishing supplies of coal, must be-
come a greater handicap still.
Explaining in an interview the char
acter and purpose Of his sun power
plant, Mr.. Shuman said.
"By means Of parabolic mirrors
the heat Of the sunsis concentrated to
five times its natural intensity.
'This gives US q temperature Of
about 600 degrees fahrenheit, and by
means Of this heat concentrated on
boilers, the steam is generated, which
Is used for driving q low pressure
condensed engine. This engine in
turn drives large reciprocating pump
capable of pumping $4,000 gallons q
minute, and thus Of irrigating in this
particular locality, 1000 acres Of
land.
You can do the same thing Of
course" Mr.. Shuman went on to say,
by means Of steam generated from
coal. But coal in the tropics costs
from $40 to $40 q ton. Sunlight does
not cost anything. It is true that the
cost Of the first construction Of sun
power irrigation plant Is double that
Of first class plant using coal. Es-
timating the interest on the increas-
ed investments at per cent this
places US on an equality with the coal
at $3.50 a ton, delivered at the site Of
the plant. o. al2.'.'
1.-The plant, moreover, Is 50 con-
structed that with ordinary care It
will last for many generations. It Is
composed entirely of re-enforced con-
crete, iron and glass. The glass and
concrete will last indefinitely, and so
will the iron work, provided that 1t Is
painted every five years.
You have, therefore, a permanent
plant, the upkeep Of which costs very
little. The labor that is required to
run a sun power plant is, indeed, q
great deal less than that which Is nee
essary for a coal plant. No stokers
are needed, there is no coal to be
shoveled and no ashes to be removed.
Hitherto the great handicap to
cultivation Of the soil in the tropics
has been the high cost Of fuel. max
ing the irrigation of all great areas
Of land prohibitive. Sun power plant
by working without fuel, sweeps away
the handicap completely, and as soon
as its use becomes general, as 1t is
certainly bound to do, 1t will make
wide areas Of deserts productive and
will enable the tropics to support
vastly greater population than they
are able to do at present.
I'm America. in the summer and
fall of 1911, 33-horse power sun
plant was thoroughly tested with per-
feet success. In Carlo we hope to
have the plant working by the first Of
next month.
IF its success there Is established
its use in the tropical countries must
become general, because no one need
have to face any longer the difficult
problem Of fuel. In addition to the
tropics, the sun power plant could al
so be used with immense advantage In
the south of France, Spain, Italy, and,
in fact, in all countries where they
have on an average Of 75 per cent Of
sunshine every day Of the year."
Mr.. Shuman added that 1t will also
be possible, by means of electric
storage batteries, to store the power
that is derived from the sun just as
one can store any other power.