Mingtan Dam

Mingtan Dam
Location of Mingtan Dam in Nantou County
Official name	明潭壩
Location	Shuili, Nantou County, Taiwan
Coordinates	23°50′11″N 120°52′04″E
Construction began	1987; 38 years ago (1987)
Opening date	1995; 30 years ago (1995)
Dam and spillways
Type of dam	Concrete gravity
Impounds	Shuili River
Height (foundation)	61.5 m (202 ft)
Length	314 m (1,030 ft)
Spillway capacity	2,550 m^3/s (90,000 cu ft/s)
Reservoir
Creates	Mingtan Reservoir
Total capacity	14,000,000 m^3 (11,000 acre⋅ft)
Catchment area	590.3 km^2 (227.9 sq mi)
Turbines	6 x 267 MW (358,000 hp) Francis pump-turbines [1]
Installed capacity	1,602 MW (2,148,000 hp)

Mingtan Reservoir

The Mingtan Dam (Chinese: 明潭壩; pinyin: Míngtán Bà) is a dam that spans the Shuili River about 4 km (2.5 mi) downstream from the outlet of Sun Moon Lake in central Taiwan with a height of about 61.5 m (202 ft). It forms Mingtan Reservoir which is the lower reservoir for the Mingtan Pumped Storage Hydro Power Plant.^[2]

History

To meet the demand of the ever-increasing peak load in Taiwan and to fully utilize off-peak power, the Taiwan Power Company (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.^[3] During the 7.7-magnitude 1999 Jiji earthquake, Mingtan was one of eight dams that sustained damage, but did not collapse.^[4]

Mingtan Pumped Storage Hydro Power Plant

The Mingtan Pumped Storage Hydro Power Plant is the largest hydroelectric power plant in Taiwan.^[2] 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 1,602 megawatts (2,148,000 hp) at peak production.^[5]

Transportation

The dam is accessible within walking distance North from Checheng Station of the Taiwan Railways Jiji Line.

See also

• Minghu Dam – located upstream with another pumped-storage power plant
• List of dams and reservoirs in Taiwan
• List of power stations in Taiwan
• List of pumped-storage hydroelectric power stations
• Electricity sector in Taiwan

References

1. "Pumped-Storage Hydroelectric Plants - Asia-Pacific". IndustCards. Archived from the original on 8 December 2012. Retrieved 21 January 2012.
2. Foster, Peter; Campbell, Grant (March 2000). "Nzsold Reconnaissance Report-Taiwan Dams" (PDF). Retrieved 2009-11-28.
3. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-03-20. Retrieved 2014-08-30.
4. Charlwood, R.G.; Little, T.E.; Lou, J.K. (April 2000). "A review of the performance of two large substations and eight large dams during the Chi Chi Taiwan earthquake" (PDF). Institute for Catastrophic Loss Reduction. Retrieved 2009-11-28.
5. "Minghu and Mingtan Reservoirs" (PDF). Taiwan Council for Public Affairs. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-07-24. Retrieved 2009-11-28.