The Mingtan Dam () is a

dam A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of surface water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use ...

that spans the Shuili River about downstream from the outlet of

Sun Moon Lake Sun Moon Lake (; Thao: ''Zintun'') is a lake in Yuchi Township, Nantou County, Taiwan. It is the largest body of water in Taiwan. The area around the lake is home to the Thao tribe, one of aboriginal tribes of Taiwan. Sun Moon Lake surrou ...

in central

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...

with a height of about . It forms Mingtan Reservoir which is the lower reservoir for the Mingtan Pumped Storage Hydro Power Plant.

History

To meet the demand of the ever-increasing

peak load In electrical engineering, a load profile is a graph of the variation in the electrical load versus time. A load profile will vary according to customer type (typical examples include residential, commercial and industrial), temperature and hol ...

in Taiwan and to fully utilize off-peak power, the

Taiwan Power Company The Taiwan Power Company (, Taipower; ) is a state-owned electric power industry providing electricity to Taiwan and off-shore islands of the Republic of China. History Taipower was established on 1 May 1946. Its origins can be traced to 1919 ...

(Taipower) had entrusted European consultants to undertake feasibility study since 1973. The study showed the feasibility of constructing Mingtan Dam to meet such peak load demand, to avoid expanding current fossil-fuel power plants in Taiwan and to have lower operational cost. The dam was completed in 1994 and opened a year later. During the 7.7-magnitude 1999 Jiji earthquake, Mingtan was one of eight dams that sustained damage, but did not collapse.

Mingtan Pumped Storage Hydro Power Plant

The Mingtan Pumped Storage Hydro Power Plant is the largest

hydroelectric power plant Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies one sixth of the world's electricity, almost 4500 TWh in 2020, which is more than all other renewable sources combined an ...

in Taiwan. It uses Sun Moon Lake as the upper reservoir and Shuili River reservoir as lower reservoir. During high power demand, water used for power generation from Sun Moon Lake, as well as Shuili River, fills Mingtan Reservoir. During low demand, the water is pumped back upstream to the lake. This system can generate up to at peak production.

Transportation

The dam is accessible within walking distance North from

Checheng Station Checheng () is a railway station on the Taiwan Railways Administration (TRA) Jiji line located in Shuili Township, Nantou County, Taiwan. History The station was originally established on 14 January 1922 as Waichecheng Station (). It was then r ...

of the Taiwan Railways

Jiji Line The Jiji Line () is a branch line of the Taiwan Railways Administration, located in Changhua and Nantou Counties in Taiwan. The length of the line is 29.7 km. History The line was originally built by Taipower in 1922 to facilitate the c ...

References

1995 establishments in Taiwan Dams completed in 1995 Dams in Nantou County Pumped-storage hydroelectric power stations {{taiwan-dam-stub

History

Mingtan Pumped Storage Hydro Power Plant

Transportation

See also

References