Mingtan Pumped Storage Hydroelectric Plant Introduction
The industrialization of electricity - From white coal to gold. Sun Moon Lake has become a hydroelectric power hub in Taiwan. Over the past eighty years, Taiwan Power Company has built major power plants such as Taipower, Juguang, Minghu, Mingtan, and Shui-Li along the banks of Sun Moon Lake and the Shui-Li River, as well as reservoirs Minghu and Mingtan for pumped-storage hydroelectric power generation. The high density of power plants and reservoirs near Checheng is rare in the world. Visitors can tour these power plants and reservoirs to experience the transformation of "water to electricity" and learn how to cherish resources, fostering a broader perspective on sustainable use and appreciation of nature’s resources. Sun Moon Lake truly generates electricity. Sun Moon Lake is located in the geographical center of Taiwan, with a highly advantageous geographical position and beautiful scenery. It is renowned far and wide and possesses both conventional and pumped-storage hydroelectric resources, making it the leading hydroelectric power center in Taiwan, with a total installed capacity of 2,768.3 megawatts, accounting for 62% of Taiwan's hydroelectric power. It is hailed as the best representation of "turning white coal into gold." Today, with the promotion of energy conservation, carbon reduction, and renewable energy, Sun Moon Lake is an ideal destination for intellectual tourism. Mingtan Juguang Branch (Sun Moon Lake Second Power Plant, Juguang 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 water from the Tonggui River and entering the Tonggui adjustment pond for storage, generating electricity with a potential of 123.6 meters to produce 43.5 kilowatts. This project began construction in December 1935 and was completed in 1937. Originally named the Sun Moon Lake Second Power Plant, it was renamed Juguang Power Plant by Madame Chiang Soong Mei-ling in January 1963. In March 1999, it merged with Mingtan Power Plant and is now referred to as the Mingtan Juguang Branch. Mingtan Power Plant (Mingtan Pumped-Storage Power Plant) is the second pumped-storage power generation project in the country and also the largest hydroelectric power project in Taiwan's history. Utilizing Sun Moon Lake as the upper reservoir and Mingtan Lake as the lower reservoir, construction began in September 1987, and the six units were successively commissioned between 1993 and 1994, generating electricity with a drop of 380 meters, driving six generating units with a total installed capacity of 1,602 megawatts. It is one of the few giant pumped-storage hydroelectric power plants in the world.
