Yukon Energy Signs Agreement to Purchase Solar Power from Solvest Inc.

Yukon Energy Corporation has signed the first Electricity Purchase Agreement with an Independent Power Producer on the Yukon Integrated Electricity System. The agreement signed with Solvest Inc. outlines Yukon Energy’s commitment to purchase the renewable electricity generated by Solvest’s proposed 1.0 megawatt solar project on the North Klondike Highway for the next 25 years. The agreement was signed as part of Yukon government’s Independent Power Production Policy’s Standing Offer Program.

Signing the Electricity Purchase Agreement will increase the supply of renewable electricity on the Yukon grid once Solvest’s solar project is complete. The additional source of renewable electricity will help offset Yukon Energy’s use of diesel and liquefied natural gas, particularly between the months of April and June each year when the amount of solar energy generated by Solvest’s solar array is expected to be the greatest.

Solvest’s 1.0 megawatt solar project is scheduled to be complete in November 2020. Once constructed, Solvest’s solar project will be the largest solar array in the territory. Solvest will join the Vuntut Gwitchin First Nation government in being the second independently developed and operated, utility-scale solar project in the territory.

Quotes

As demand for electricity grows, it is important that we increase the amount generated from renewable sources. This local renewable energy project creates jobs and opportunities for Yukon businesses, supports energy self-sufficiency, makes us less vulnerable to changing fuel prices and helps us transition to a clean energy economy. Signing this agreement brings certainty to Solvest as a green economy investor and to Yukon Energy and its customers on the price paid for power over the next 25 years.

– Minister of Energy, Mines and Resources Ranj Pillai

Yukon Energy is committed to renewables. By 2030, our goal is to have more than 97% of the electricity generated on the Yukon grid, on average, to come from renewable sources. In addition to the renewable projects we are building on our own, entering into these types of agreements with Independent Power Producers and purchasing locally-owned and generated renewable electricity helps us reach our renewable electricity target and build a sustainable energy future in Yukon.

– Yukon Energy Corporation President and CEO Andrew Hall

Solvest is pleased to take a leading role in renewable energy development in the Yukon. This project will provide an economically viable example of solar in the north and help encourage further development of renewable energy here and across northern Canada. As a local company, we look forward to working with Yukon government, Yukon Energy and ATCO Electric Yukon to bring this project online and begin supplying Yukoners with renewable energy for decades to come.

– Solvest Vice-President Ben Power

Quick facts

• Once constructed, Solvest’s solar array will be the largest solar array in operating in the territory. It will generate approximately 1.84 gigawatt hours of renewable electricity each year – about the same amount of electricity used by 153 Yukon homes in a year. The project is expected to generate most of its solar power between the months of April and June.
• There are three approaches to developing an Independent Power Production project: the Standing Offer Program for smaller projects that go through an application process, the Call of Power where utilities seek out larger projects and Unsolicited Proposals where projects are submitted to utilities. This agreement is under the Standing Offer Program.

Stephanie Cunha
Communications, Yukon Energy Corporation
867- 334-7760
stephanie.cunha@yec.yk.ca

Anne Huang
Communications, Solvest Inc.
867-457-5690
press@solvest.ca

Brigitte Parker
Communications, Energy, Mines and Resources
867- 667-3183
Brigitte.Parker@gov.yk.ca