Mingtan Power Plant Introduction
The Industrialization of Electricity - From White Coal to Gold Sun Moon Lake is the hydropower capital of Taiwan. For nearly eighty years, Taiwan Power Company has successively built several power plants, including Daguan, Jugong, Minghu, Mingtan, and Shui Li along the shores of Sun Moon Lake and Shui Li Creek, as well as the Minghu and Mingtan reservoirs for pumped-storage hydropower generation. The high density of power plants and reservoirs near Checheng is rare in the world. Visitors to these power plants and reservoirs can experience the transformation of "water into electricity" and learn how to cherish resources, thus fostering a macro perspective for the sustainable utilization and appreciation of nature’s resources. Sun Moon Lake is centrally located in Taiwan, boasting a favorable geographical setting and beautiful scenery, known far and wide. It has both conventional and pumped-storage hydropower resources, making Sun Moon Lake a major hub for hydropower in Taiwan, with a total installed capacity of 2,768.3 kilowatts, accounting for 62% of the hydropower in Taiwan. It is hailed as the best illustration of "turning white coal into gold." In an era that promotes energy conservation, carbon reduction, and renewable energy, Sun Moon Lake is an ideal 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 through a 4,409-meter-long water diversion tunnel, merging with the water from the Tonggui Creek and diverting into the Tonggui adjustment pool to generate electricity using a potential of 123.6 meters, producing 43.5 kilowatts of power. This project commenced in December 1935 and was completed in 1937. Originally named Sun Moon Lake Second Power Plant, it was renamed Jugong Power Plant in January 1963 by Madame Chiang Soong Mei-ling. In March 1999, it merged with Mingtan Power Plant and is currently known as Mingtan Jugong Branch. Mingtan Power Plant (Mingtan Pumped Storage Power Plant) is the second pumped-storage power generation project in Taiwan and the largest hydropower project in the island's history. Using Sun Moon Lake as the upper reservoir and Mingtan Reservoir as the lower reservoir, construction began in September 1987, and the six units began commercial operation from 1993 to 1994. It generates power utilizing a drop of 380 meters, driving six generating units with a total installed capacity of 1,602 kilowatts, making it one of the few large pumped-storage hydropower plants in the world.
