Water Power Development I-II. [antikvár]

PREFACE The production of electric energy may well be considered the technical basis of present economic development. The demand for electric energy increases from year to year. More than one-third of this demand is at present supplied by hydroelectric power plants and thus the full exploitation of hitherto undeveloped water power resources has acquired increased significance and urgency. As compared to the general attitude but a few decades ago the interpretation of the economic importance of water power resources has undergone radical changes during the last years. Besides the fact, that owing to the vast development in mechanical as well as hydraulic engineering a favourable shift could be observed in exploitation economics, these changes may be attributed to other factors as well. Coal and oil supplies of the world are by no means unlimited. These sources of energy constitute at the same time valuable industrial raw materials whose use as fuel should as far as possible be avoided. The possibility of simultaneously solving problems of water economics of river valleys and entire river basins by a system of large hydraulic structures built for purposes of power generation, laid added emphasis on water power development. The economic aspects of power plants built within the framework of multipurpose projects serving interests of iirigation, navigation and flood control as well are, naturally, entirely different from those built with the sole object of energy generation. A new age in energy economics is being introduced by the use of nuclear energy for electric power generation and radical changes may be expected in technical development. Yet at the threshold of the new age experts seem to agree that water power and nuclear energy will not become rivals ; in fact, hydroelectric stations will co-operate with atomic power plants. It is in all probability due to this opinion that, in spite of the prospect of high-capacity atomic power plants impeding, the rate of water power development has shown no decline, moreover, an upward trend can be detected. Perusing papers submitted to, and published by, the World Power Conferences we become aware that a great number of countries all over the