Mingtan Dam Introduction
Power Industry – From White Coal to Golden Treasure Sun Moon Lake is a major hub for hydropower generation in Taiwan. Over the past eighty years, Taiwan Power Company has built the big觀, 巨工, 明湖, 明潭, and 水里 power plants along the shores of Sun Moon Lake and Shui Li Creek, as well as the 明湖 and 明潭 reservoirs for pumped storage hydropower generation. The density of power plants and reservoirs near Checheng is rare in the world. Visitors can tour the various power plants and reservoirs to experience the transformation of "water to electricity" and learn to cherish resources, thus encouraging a broader perspective on sustainable utilization and care for nature's resources. True Power of Sun Moon Lake Situated in the geographical center of Taiwan, Sun Moon Lake boasts favorable topographical features and stunning scenery, renowned far and wide. With both conventional and pumped-storage hydropower resources, Sun Moon Lake has become a key site for hydropower generation in Taiwan, with a total installed capacity of 2,768.3 megawatts, accounting for 62% of Taiwan's hydropower generation. It is praised as the best example of "white coal becoming gold." In an era advocating energy conservation, carbon reduction, and renewable energy, Sun Moon Lake is the perfect destination for intellectual tourism. Mingtan Jugong Branch (Sun Moon Lake Second Power Plant, Jugong Power Plant) utilizes water released from the Sun Moon Lake First Power Plant, flowing through a 4,409-meter-long water diversion tunnel, merging with the waters of the Tung Kuei Creek, and stored in the Tunghui adjustment pool to generate electricity using a hydraulic head of 123.6 meters, producing 43.5 kilowatts of power. This project began construction in December 1935 and was completed in 1937, originally named Sun Moon Lake Second Power Plant. In January 1963, it was renamed Jugong Power Plant by Soong Mei-ling. In March 1999, it merged with Mingtan Power Plant and is now called Mingtan Jugong Branch. The Mingtan Power Plant (Mingtan Pumped Storage Power Plant) is the second pumped storage power generation project in the country and the largest hydropower project in Taiwan's history, using Sun Moon Lake as the upper reservoir and Mingtan Reservoir as the lower reservoir. Construction began in September 1987, and during 1993 to 1994, six units were put into commercial operation, harnessing a drop of 380 meters to generate electricity, driving six generating units with a total installed capacity of 1,602 megawatts, and is one of the few giant pumped-storage hydropower plants in the world.
