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News, Energy Supply, Environment, Partnerships
Mar 12, 2015  Comment

Secondary Sales Benefits all Yukoners

You may have heard the news that the Yukon Hospital Corporation recently re-joined our Secondary Sales Program after a hiatus of a few years. The program gives eligible Yukon businesses the option of using renewable power to heat their facilities instead of more expensive, GHG producing fossil fuels. It is priced at a discount to heating oil, saving participating companies about 30 percent on their heating bills. Our sales have dropped in the last two years, in large part because of warmer temperatures. This program gives us the opportunity to make up some of that lost revenue, so we can keep rates affordable for other ‘firm’ electricity customers. It also lowers Yukon's greenhouse gas emissions, making it a win for the entire Yukon. Whitehorse General Hospital used the secondary sales program from 2003 to 2010, but that tapered off with the limited availability of surplus renewable energy. Now that it has re-joined the program, the hospital estimates heating costs could be reduced by $100,000 this year alone. To qualify for the program, businesses must have or install a second electrically fired heating system, and acknowledge that the secondary power is interruptible during times when renewable electricity is not available. A key component is that the company be connected via computer to Yukon Energy’s system control centre, so that the business can be automatically turned on and off based on the availability of surplus renewable power. There is currently one other automated secondary sales customer – the Canada Games Centre. In 2014, the Centre has been able to access secondary sales approximately 97 percent of the time, saving Whitehorse taxpayers close to $100,000 in heating costs. We are interested in adding one or two more automated secondary sales customers in the coming months. If you are a business interested in learning more, please contact us. Photo: Yukon Hospital Corporation CEO Jason Bilsky (left) with Yukon Energy President Andrew Hall in front of one of the Whitehorse hospital's electric boilers.
Community Involvement, Environment
Mar 17, 2015  Comment

Sharing the Knowledge

Yukon Energy's Environmental Coordinator Shannon Mallory spent an afternoon recently back in the classroom. She, along with Brian Horton from the Northern Climate ExChange (NCE) of the Yukon Research Centre, gave a presentation to the Grade 11 Experiential Science class about the research being done into climate change in the Southern Yukon. Yukon Energy has worked with the NCE for the past several years to gather new information about how climate change could affect hydro generation at our Whitehorse dam. In future, we expect to have similar research done with regard to how changes in climate could affect our Mayo and Aishihik hydro operations.
News, Energy Conservation, Energy Supply, Environment
Mar 19, 2015  Comment

Planning for the Advent of the Electric Car in the North

Yukon Energy is looking to learn more about electric vehicles and how they perform in cold climates. While electric cars and trucks are still rare in the territory, they are becoming more popular in other parts of the country and the world. We are about to have a study done that looks at the following: How well do electric vehicles operate in the north, in terms of things like driving range, interior heating, charging times, etc. What kind of trend can we expect to see in Yukon over the next five, ten, fifteen, etc. years in terms of how many Yukoners will be buying and using electric vehicles? What will the impacts be to our grid once electric vehicles become more common in the territory? The study will begin this spring, and we should have some results to share by the end of the summer. Photo credit: https://www.pinterest.com/indrawarman/electric-cars/
News, Energy Supply, Environment
Mar 20, 2015  Comment

Innovation Takes Patience

​You will likely remember that late last year, Yukon Energy and Cold Climate Innovation of the Yukon Research Centre began looking at the viability of turning food and yard waste into a renewable energy called biogas. Biogas is methane rich gas produced when organics are broken down anaerobically (without oxygen). The research involved sending two 55-gallon drums full of food and yard waste to a lab in Saskatchewan, where a trial was done to find out how much biogas could be produced with the organics. The results indicate that our samples contained a lower level of methane than what is usually produced from food and yard waste. Biogas is normally around 60 percent methane, whereas our research samples were between 30 and 47 percent. Based on these results, we are considering doing further testing using some different variables. We have shared our results with a number of biogas experts, who suggested several things that could be done differently in a second trial. They believe that the following actions should result in higher methane levels: Shred the food and yard waste before it’s tested. Re-consider the time of year that samples are collected. (For our trial, we gathered samples from the Whitehorse compost facility in November, when compost contained high levels of leaves and grass compared to food waste). Experiment with different ratios of food versus yard waste. Use larger sample sizes. Generating heat and electricity from organics is an innovative idea, and innovation can take time and patience, with lots of trial and error. We still believe this alternative energy source has potential, and what we have learned in this early study will be applied in future research.   Next steps include: Look at getting a second set of trials done; and Have a preliminary design and cost estimate done for a biogas and greenhouse energy centre in Whitehorse. The idea would be to generate heat and electricity using organics from the city’s composting facility and use the energy to service a greenhouse or other on-site facility.

News, Energy Conservation, Environment
Mar 30, 2015  Comment

Earth Hour Results 2015

Congratulations Yukoners! Collectively you reduced your power consumption during Earth Hour (Saturday night from 8:30 to 9:30) by about 1.6 megawatts. That's a reduction of about three percent in energy usage; the best showing since Yukon Energy started tracking Earth Hour five years ago. The electricity saved would be enough to power about half of the Riverdale subdivision in Whitehorse. Last year savings were 1.5 megawatts. In 2013 Yukoners reduced consumption by about one megawatt.
News, Community Involvement, Energy Supply, Reliability
Apr 07, 2015  Comment

Stewart-Keno City Transmission Project Update

If you are a regular reader of this blog, you will know that the Yukon government - through the Yukon Development Corporation - is providing $5.3 million to plan improvements to the transmission infrastructure in the Central Yukon between Stewart Crossing and Keno City. Over the next several months, Yukon Energy wiill use this money to complete engineering and permitting for the Stewart Keno City Transmission Project. This planning initiative will result in a shovel-ready construction project by the spring of 2017. We are hosting some public meetings so you can learn more. The first two are set for next week in the Central Yukon: Tuesday, April 14, 2015 2 p.m. – Keno City Library 7 p.m. – Mayo Curling Lounge We will also hold a public meeting in Whitehorse within the next month (watch this blog for date, time, and location). For more information please call (867) 393-5333 or email janet.patterson@yec.yk.ca.
Energy Conservation, Environment
Apr 08, 2015  Comment

Why Energy Conservation?

We are often asked why a company such as ours that is in the business of selling electricity would be promoting energy conservation and efficiency. Shouldn’t we be encouraging people to use more electricity, not less? The question came up again recently, after we told Yukoners that our electricity sales have dropped about five percent in the last two years…the same period of time that we and ATCO Electric Yukon jointly launched the inCharge electricity conservation program. There are a number of reasons why energy conservation/efficiency continues to make sense for us and for Yukoners in general. While we have seen a drop in electricity sales in 2013 and 2014, (primarily because of milder temperatures as opposed to our inCharge program), we expect that in the longer term, the trend will be towards growth in the territory and thus higher electricity consumption. Yukon Energy is working to find new short- to medium-term renewable energy options to meet that expected growth, and one of the most economical options is conservation/efficiencies. A megawatt saved is a megawatt that we don’t have to build. Developing a conservation culture doesn’t happen overnight. People’s habits change slowly. Our inCharge program is helping to build awareness and creating new thought patterns that should, over time, result in significant energy savings. By starting now, even at a time when our sales are down, it should reap greater benefits a few years from now. Finally, it’s the right thing to do. Just because we might, at certain times of the year, have an excess of renewable electricity, that doesn’t mean that we should not use it wisely. Energy conservation/efficiencies is good for the planet, and thus for all of us. Another question that we sometimes receive from Yukoners is related to our natural gas plant that will be in service by late spring. We are asked if, once that facility is operating, we will continue to promote energy conservation. The answer is yes, of course. The natural gas plant is being built purely as back-up, to be used during emergencies or during cold periods when we don’t have enough renewable power to meet demand. The natural gas units are merely replacing two old back-up diesel generations that must be retired. Yukon Energy remains at our core a renewable energy company, with 99.6 percent of our generation last year coming from hydro and wind, and we see energy conservation as one form of renewable energy that is readily available to Yukoners.
News, Energy Supply, Reliability, Safety
Apr 10, 2015  Comment

Planned Power Outage - April 16th

Yukon Energy wants to advise customers in the area of Pine Lake, Marshall Creek, and Otter Falls, of two short planned power outages. Each outage will be 5-10 minutes long and will take place on Thursday, April 16th: one around 10 a.m. and the second around 2 p.m. The outages are necessary so crews can work safely on the transmission system. Thanks for your understanding.
News, Community Involvement, Energy Supply, Reliability
Apr 10, 2015  Comment

Stewart-Keno City Transmission Project Brochure

A reminder to people in Mayo and Keno City that Yukon Energy is holding public meetings in your communities next Tuesday (April 14th) to provide information about plans to improve the transmission system between Stewart Crossing and Keno City. 2 p.m. - Keno City library 7 p.m. - Mayo curling lounge  This brochure provides some information. 
News, Community Involvement, Energy Supply, Environment
Apr 10, 2015  Comment

Climate Change Research Helps Yukon College Math Students

Yukon College statistics students have gone beyond their textbooks by applying their skills to a simulated climate change-related research project in the territory. Math 105 Introduction to Statistics students have used real-life weather data from a collaborative research project between the Yukon Research Centre (YRC) and Yukon Energy Corporation that could prove beneficial to the hydro security of the Yukon River. You can read more about it here. Photo courtesy of Yukon Research Centre.
News, Energy Supply, Partnerships
May 01, 2015  Comment

Kwanlin Dun’s Investment Options For Our Natural Gas Plant

This morning the Kwanlin Dun First Nation and our parent, the Yukon Development Corporation, signed an agreement that provides important investment opportunities for the First Nation regarding our natural gas product. Under the agreement, Kwanlin Dun will have the chance to invest up to 50 percent of the value of the project, and to invest in any subsequent phases of the initiative. This is part of a broader Project Cooperation Agreement that Yukon Energy and the First Nation signed last year. Through that agreement, the Firist Nation benefitted from the LNG project through a clearing contract and via their partnership with the winning bidder of the civil contract. Kwanlin Dun also has first rights to access our LNG supply chain to develop a wholesale/retail business to supply local transportation and heating markets. You can read more about today's signing here.
News, Energy Supply, Environment, Reliability
May 01, 2015  Comment

What is That White Cloud?

The construction work on our natural gas facility is almost complete. We expect construction to be finished within the next couple of weeks. Then there will be several weeks of commissioning (bringing the plant on-line). It should be in operation by early to mid-June. Within the next few weeks we will use liquid nitrogen to cool the LNG storage tanks and prepare them to receive natural gas.  We have chosen liquid nitrogen as the cooling agent because it is a harmless gas (the air we breathe is made up of 78 percent nitrogen) that does not create any GHG emissions, is not flammable, and is even colder than LNG; it boils at -196°C compared to -162°C for LNG. As the tanks cool, the liquid nitrogen will be released into the air. That means you may see a white cloud above our LNG plant for a few hours as the cold liquid nitrogen causes water vapor in the air to condense. You may also hear a whistling noise. This is normal and perfectly safe. We want to emphasize that this will be harmless nitrogen and not liquefied natural gas. Should you have questions, please call 393-5300.
Energy Supply
Apr 30, 2015  Comment

The Latest on the Southern Lakes Enhanced Storage Concept

A couple of months ago, we posted a link to a brochure that provided some information about why Yukon Energy is looking to store more water in some of the Southern Lakes for added winter generation. Along with posting it here, on our website, and our social media sites, the brochure was mailed to residents of the Southern Lakes and Whitehorse. For those of you wanting further detail, we are producing a series of follow-up brochures. The first one focusses on birds, wildlife and wetlands, and the second on fish and fish habitat. Watch for two others to be produced this summer that address the potential for erosion and groundwater.
News, Community Involvement
Apr 28, 2015  Comment

Burn Fat, Not Oil

One of Yukon Energy's goals is to encourage sustainability, whether that be in our own operations or in Yukon as a whole. That's why this year, we are teaming up with the City of Whitehorse to encourage local residents to bike to work or school throughout the month of May. There'll be contests, bike commuter skills workshops, and fueling stations where you can stop on your way to work or school to receive free snacks. There will be an online registration page to log your kilometers with a chance to win prizes. Spring is here! It's time to do something good for your body and the planet. So burn fat, not oil. For more details, go to www.yukonbiketowork.ca.
Environment
Apr 16, 2015  Comment

Aishihik Power Canal Resting Spot for Swans

You may not realize that our Aishihik power canal is used by lots of migratory birds as a resting area. Here are a few photos taken by Yukon Energy employee Jim Petelski earlier this week.

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