Abstract
IN view of the partial dependence of France on other sources for her coal supplies, the question of utilising water-power becomes an increasingly vital factor in her economic development. Considerable interest therefore attaches to an article appearing in La Nature for June 23, which incidentally furnishes also a comparison with the resources of other countries in this respect. Various computations have been made as regards France; one made in 1911 places her resources at 9,200,000 horse-power of water-power available for a minimum of 180 days in the year. This is against Norway's 7,500,000 h.p., Sweden's 6,750,000 h.p., Austria-Hungary's 6,450,000 h.p., Italy's 5,500,000 h.p., Spain's 5,000,000 h.p., Switzerland's 1,500,000 h.p., Germany's 1,425,500 h.p., and Great Britain's 396,000 h.p. In this connection Norway's available supply is 36-60 h.p. per square kilometre of area, that of Sweden 20 h.p., of Austria-Hungary 19-46 h.p., Spain and Italy 10 h.p. each, England and Germany 2 to 3 h.p. each. France's resources, according to recent estimates, are about 25 h.p. for the same area. The quantity of water available in the Alpine regions alone of France represents about 4,000,000 h.p.
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HODGSON, E. The Hydraulic Resources of France. Nature 100, 94–95 (1917). https://doi.org/10.1038/100094b0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/100094b0