Pending Application - Ma'an Project, Taichung City
The Ma’an Hydropower Plant certification review marks LIHI’s first exploration of project certification outside of the United States, expanding the Institute’s mission of promoting sustainable hydropower into an international context.
| Nom du projet | Dajia River Power Plant Ma’an Hydropower Station |
| Numéro de certificat LIHI |
N / A |
| Durée du certificat LIHI |
N / A |
| Propriétaire | Taiwan Power Company |
| Emplacement | Heping District, Taichung City |
| Emplacement | 37.86 km from the Daija River Estuary |
| Capacité installée | 133,5 MW |
| Génération annuelle moyenne | 400 000 MWh |
| Type d'établissement | Storage/peaking |
| Regulatory License | First Electricity Generating Enterprise License Issuance: February, 1948; Re-issuance: March 31, 2025. |
The Ma'an Hydropower Plant Project is located on the Dajia River in Taichung City. It is part of a cascade of hydropower plants on the Dajia River that operate in a coordinated manner for hydropower, irrigation, and public water supply. The plant is operated by remote control from the main control room at the upstream Tianlun Power Plant.
The project was completed in December 1998. The main facilities include a concrete gravity dam, 303 meters long and 18.5 to 41.0 meters high. The dam creates an impoundment with a surface area of 19.9 hectares and a length of 900 meters upstream to the tailrace of the upstream Tianlun power station. The dam also creates a bypassed reach approximately 11 km long. Water is conveyed via a 7.5-kilometer penstock to a semi-underground power plant. The power plant houses two vertical axis Francis turbine generator units, each with an output of 66,750 kilowatts, for a total installed capacity of 133,500 kilowatts. The plant can generate 400 million kWh annually.The powerhouse discharges to a two-tiered adjustment pond which re-regulates the flow into the lower river.
During operation, the discharge flow from the dam is flexibly adjusted to maintain the minimum conservation flow required to maintain aquatic habitat in the bypassed reach. The project also provides upstream and downstream passage for fish with public viewing, an observation deck, and a public Ecological Park with exhibits about hydropower.
The assessment of Ma’an was conducted with the Hydropower Sustainability Alliance (HSA) as part of a pilot program to assess the feasibility of a dual certification pathway (in accordance with the MoU between the HSA and LIHI). Both organizations are now seeking to conduct a second pilot in the United States. If you are interested in learning more about the pilot or putting forward your project for potential dual certification, please reach out to the HSA and LIHI at info@lowimpacthydro.org et info@hs-alliance.org.
For more information on the Hydropower Sustainability Alliance's review of the Ma'an project, please click ICI.
For more information on the Hydropower Sustainability Alliance and their Hydropower Sustainability Standard, please click ICI.
Certification History and Comment Submission
September 17, 2025: Public notice of the review report is being made on the Taipower, HSA, and LIHI websites as well as to LIHI's email list and agency and interested party contacts provided by the Applicant. This is the first LIHI review of a non-US project and was conducted under the 2025 LIHI Handbook Revision 2.06 with a formal LIHI application submitted by the Applicant. We are using this experience to identify whether non-US projects could satisfy the LIHI criteria and standards, through dual certification with HSA. As such, we welcome comments on the Ma’an application as well as LIHI certification outside of the US and dual certification with HSA. The 60-day public comment period will close on 17 novembre 2025 and any comments received will be incorporated into a revised report and posted on the LIHI website. Comments may be submitted to the Institute online via the comment forms below.
Comments are welcome on the following topics: Ma’an Project application and LIHI review report; the process of this certification review; and dual certification with HSA.
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