The Whitehorse hydro plant has served Yukoners since 1958. It was developed to supply electricity to a growing Yukon population. It began with two turbines; a third one was added in 1969, and a fourth in 1985. In the summertime, our Whitehorse hydro facilities can produce 40 megawatts of power.…
The Aishihik hydro plant, located about 110 kilometres northwest of Whitehorse, has provided renewable electricity to Yukoners since 1975. It was built to serve the growing electrical demands of Yukoners and of a large lead-zinc mine at Faro in the Central Yukon. The original plant included two hydro units that could…
The Mayo A hydro facility has served Yukoners since 1951. It was developed to supply electricity to the United Keno Hill Mine at Elsa, about 45 kilometres north of Mayo. It also generates power for other Yukon communities via Yukon Energy’s transmission system. The Mayo B hydro project, completed in…
Natural gas is a type of fuel, like gasoline or diesel, used to drive engines or heat buildings. After it is removed from the ground it can be refrigerated to minus 162°C; at that temperature it turns into liquid (referred to as LNG or liquefied natural gas) that takes up far…
For most of the year, we rely on hydro for our energy supply, with small amounts of electricity being produced by wind. However we do use back-up diesel generation during power outages, to supplement our hydro in very cold weather, and during droughts. Yukon Energy currently has diesel generators in…
Uprating involves replacing older components of generating equipment with new, more efficient components. The result is that the generator can produce more electricity with the same amount of water. Refurbishments are major overhauls of existing facilities where many pieces of equipment are reaching end of life. Upratings are one of…
During the summer and fall, we must spill water at our Whitehorse facility because we don’t have the ability under our current water license to store it in the Southern Lakes system. However in winter there isn’t enough water to meet the demand and Yukon Energy must at times resort…
The original reservoir at Mayo Lake was developed in the 1950s when Mayo A was built. The lake level was raised about five metres and the current operating regime of 2.59 metres was established. Yukon Energy is proposing to enhance the storage at Mayo Lake by lowering the current licensed…
During the fall of 2015, Yukon Energy installed a solar energy system on the south facing wall of our main administration building in Whitehorse. The system, that includes 40 panels of 260 watts each, can produce about 10 kW of renewable energy. It is providing power for at least five percent of our…
Wind is another potential option in our “energy tool box”. It is renewable and scalable. Most of our wind research to date has focussed on two areas: 1) Tehcho (formerly Ferry Hill) near Stewart Crossing in the Central Yukon; and 2) Mount Sumanik near Whitehorse, although as part of our 2016 Resource…
Electrical energy cannot be stored without the help of some kind of technology. Electrical storage systems allow energy generated at one time to be held for use at another time. There are many types of storage, including compressed air, flywheels, hydrogen cells, and capacitors. Our research indicates battery storage is…
Hydro electricity generation uses the force of falling or fast-moving water to produce power. Small-scale hydro in Yukon would either be a traditional plant with a dam and reservoir to store water, or a run-of-river plant. Run-of-river operations use the natural flow of a river, with little – if any…
The Yukon government, through the Yukon Development Corporation, providing Yukon Energy with $5.3 million to plan for improvements to the transmission infrastructure in the Central Yukon between Stewart Crossing and Keno City. This money has resulted in a shovel-ready project. The Yukon government and our parent the Yukon Development Corporation…