Hydroelectricity is the lowest-cost clean energy source that can be started up quickly, generating electricity as easily as turning on a tap. This is critical to the stability of the nation’s power system, especially when coupled with pumped-storage hydroelectricity.
The Dajia River (大甲溪) in central Taiwan is the nation’s only river with a series of reservoirs and hydropower plants, from upstream to downstream, making full use of the energy of flowing water to generate electricity.
The Dajia River Power Plant consists of five stations — at Taichung County’s Deji (德基), Cingshan (青山), Guguan (谷關), Tianlun (天輪) and Sintianlun (新天輪) reservoirs — with a total capacity of 1,010 megawatts, greater than the 951 megawatts of the Maanshan Nuclear Power Plant.
Unfortunately, there is no reservoir along the Daan River (大安溪), which is north of Dajia River, nor is there one along the Dadu River (大肚溪) in the south. The Jhuoshuei River (濁水溪), the longest in Taiwan, has only one reservoir, in Nantou County’s Wushe (霧社).
Neither the Laonong River (荖濃溪) nor the Cishan River (旗山溪) has a reservoir, meaning that the large amounts of water running through them year-round travels into the sea.
If a major river can produce as much electricity as a nuclear power plant, it is possible for Taiwan to develop another 10 gigawatts of capacity, with cheap green electricity. If this were coupled with pumped-storage hydroelectricity, the problem of energy storage with urgent demand could be solved.
The development of more reservoirs could simultaneously alleviate the nation’s water and electricity shortage issues, but reservoir silt accumulation remains a concern. Thankfully, there is a solution to this: the now-mature technology of sediment-sluicing tunnels used in the Shimen (石門), Zengwen (曾文) and Nanhua (南化) reservoirs.
As there are no migratory fish in Taiwan’s rivers, reservoirs would have a minor ecological impact, and the freshwater lakes formed by the dams and their surroundings could become homes to rich ecologies.
Taiwan’s reservoir construction technology is world-class, and government regulations require overall safety assessments of reservoirs every five years, so the their stability can be ensured.
In times of electricity and water shortages, and with the need to develop sustainable green energy sources, Taiwan should promote the construction of hydropower plants.
Lee Chyi-tyi is a researcher at National Central University’s Earthquake-Disaster and Risk Evaluation and Management Center.
Translated by Lin Lee-kai
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