Preliminary Decision: Certification of Ma’an Dam Project, pending LIHI #207-I

December 11, 2025: The Low Impact Hydropower Institute (LIHI) has preliminarily approved Low Impact Certification for the Ma’an Dam Hydroelectric Project, (pending LIHI #207-I) located on the Dajia River in Taichung City. This decision is made notwithstanding the current eligibility rules of the program which exclude facilities located outside of the U.S. as this is a pilot project and not precedent setting for the LIHI program as a whole. We will use this experience to consider changes to our eligibility requirements, and any such changes would be put out for public review and comment.

The full application and reviewer’s report are available HERE.

This decision is preliminary pending the 30-day appeal window. Only those who commented on the initial application during the 60-day comment period are eligible to file an appeal. Such appeal needs to include an explanation as to how the Project does not meet the LIHI criteria. Appeal requests can be submitted by email to comments@lowimpacthydro.org with “Ma’an Dam Project” in the subject line, or by mail addressed to the Low Impact Hydropower Institute, 68 Harrison Ave Ste 605, PMB 113938 Boston, Massachusetts 02111-1929.

All requests will be posted to the website. The applicant will have an opportunity to respond and any response will also be posted. Requests must be received by 5 pm Eastern U.S. time on January 12 2026.  If no appeal requests are received the certification term will be April 18 2025 through April 17, 2038.