Yukon Energy Corporation
Encyclopedia
Yukon Energy Corporation' (YEC) is a Canadian
Crown corporation in the Yukon
.
YEC is a subsidiary of Yukon Development Corporation and was established in 1987 to take over the Yukon assets of the Northern Canada Power Commission. YEC generates
virtually all of the Yukon's electricity supply, and distributes power to most locations outside of Whitehorse
. Their largest customer (a wholesale buyer) is the Yukon Electrical Company
(YECL), a private business that has been operating since 1901, which itself has some smaller hydro operations, and serves primarily the Whitehorse area. YEC itself provides customer electricity directly in Dawson City, Mayo, Faro, Champagne and to some isolated individual customers.
YEC has developed a grid that connects hydro
facilities in Whitehorse
(Schwatka Lake
Dam - 40 MW from four wheels, the fourth added in 1983), Aishihik Lake
- 30 MW, and the YECL facilities at Fish Lake near Whitehorse. The communities on the "Whitehorse-Aishihik-Faro" grid include Whitehorse, Haines Junction
, Champagne, Carcross
, Tagish
, Marsh Lake, Johnson's Crossing, Teslin
, Carmacks
, Faro
, and Ross River
.
YEC operates two wind turbines on Haeckel Hill near Whitehorse connected to the Whitehorse-Aishihik-Faro grid. The first turbine is a Bonus Energy 150 kW MARK III installed in 1993. The second turbine, a Vestas
660 kW V47 LT II was later installed in 2000. These units need to be specially adapted to deal with icing and the northern environment.
A second grid, brought on-line in 2004, connects Dawson City
(reliant on diesel power from 1966 to 2004) via Stewart Crossing to Mayo
, Elsa
and Keno City
drawing on the 5 MW hydro facility just north of Mayo that had mines at Elsa as primary customer until 1989.
The government of John Ostashek
(1992-1996) had promised to connect Mayo, Stewart Crossing and Pelly Crossing
to the main southern grid at Carmacks. To date, this project has not been developed, and Pelly Crossing remains on its own diesel generator. There are preliminary plans at this time to possibly proceed with such a connection, with interest in using it to provide power to two new mines in the Minto area.
Yukon Electrical Company Limited operates diesel generators to serve customers in Watson Lake-Upper Liard
, Swift River, Burwash Landing
, Destruction Bay, Beaver Creek
, Pelly Crossing and Old Crow
. The possibility of a grid connection to Atlin, British Columbia
has probably been eliminated by a decision to construct a hydro project near Atlin.
The Yukon has no connections to the continental power grid, therefore, YEC cannot sell to or buy from networks in Alaska
, British Columbia
, Alberta
or the Northwest Territories
. In addition to the extreme expense of such transmission lines, they would also be subject to disruption from solar flares.
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
Crown corporation in the Yukon
Yukon
Yukon is the westernmost and smallest of Canada's three federal territories. It was named after the Yukon River. The word Yukon means "Great River" in Gwich’in....
.
YEC is a subsidiary of Yukon Development Corporation and was established in 1987 to take over the Yukon assets of the Northern Canada Power Commission. YEC generates
Electricity generation
Electricity generation is the process of generating electric energy from other forms of energy.The fundamental principles of electricity generation were discovered during the 1820s and early 1830s by the British scientist Michael Faraday...
virtually all of the Yukon's electricity supply, and distributes power to most locations outside of Whitehorse
Whitehorse, Yukon
Whitehorse is Yukon's capital and largest city . It was incorporated in 1950 and is located at kilometre 1476 on the Alaska Highway in southern Yukon. Whitehorse's downtown and Riverdale areas occupy both shores of the Yukon River, which originates in British Columbia and meets the Bering Sea in...
. Their largest customer (a wholesale buyer) is the Yukon Electrical Company
Yukon Electrical Company
The Yukon Electrical Company Limited is an investor-owned private electrical utility based in Whitehorse serving most Yukon communities as well as Lower Post, British Columbia...
(YECL), a private business that has been operating since 1901, which itself has some smaller hydro operations, and serves primarily the Whitehorse area. YEC itself provides customer electricity directly in Dawson City, Mayo, Faro, Champagne and to some isolated individual customers.
YEC has developed a grid that connects hydro
Hydroelectricity
Hydroelectricity is the term referring to electricity generated by hydropower; the production of electrical power through the use of the gravitational force of falling or flowing water. It is the most widely used form of renewable energy...
facilities in Whitehorse
Whitehorse, Yukon
Whitehorse is Yukon's capital and largest city . It was incorporated in 1950 and is located at kilometre 1476 on the Alaska Highway in southern Yukon. Whitehorse's downtown and Riverdale areas occupy both shores of the Yukon River, which originates in British Columbia and meets the Bering Sea in...
(Schwatka Lake
Schwatka Lake
Schwatka Lake is a reservoir created by the damming of the Yukon River in Whitehorse, Yukon, completed in 1958. The dam provides electrical power generation and is operated by the Yukon Energy Corporation. The White Horse Rapids, which gave the city its name, are now under the lake...
Dam - 40 MW from four wheels, the fourth added in 1983), Aishihik Lake
Aishihik Lake
-References:*...
- 30 MW, and the YECL facilities at Fish Lake near Whitehorse. The communities on the "Whitehorse-Aishihik-Faro" grid include Whitehorse, Haines Junction
Haines Junction, Yukon
Haines Junction is a village in the Yukon, Canada. It is located at Kilometre 1,632 of the Alaska Highway at its junction with the Haines Highway, hence the name of the community. According to the 2006 Census the population was 589. It is next to Kluane National Park and Reserve...
, Champagne, Carcross
Carcross, Yukon
Carcross, originally known as Caribou Crossing, is an unincorporated community in the Territory of Yukon, Canada on Bennett Lake and Nares Lake. It has a population of 431 and is home to the Carcross/Tagish First Nation....
, Tagish
Tagish, Yukon
Tagish is an unincorporated community in the Yukon, Canada. It is 30 km east of Carcross, Yukon on the Tagish Road at the northern end of Tagish Lake. The greater Tagish area also includes the Tagish Estates, Tagish Beach and Taku subdivisions, the latter two developed for cottages but now serving...
, Marsh Lake, Johnson's Crossing, Teslin
Teslin, Yukon
The community of Teslin includes the Village of Teslin and an adjacent Indian Reserve in the Yukon, Canada. Teslin is situated at historical Mile 804 on the Alaska Highway along Teslin Lake. The Hudson's Bay Company established a small trading post at Teslin in 1903...
, Carmacks
Carmacks, Yukon
-History:The community consists of the Village of Carmacks and the Little Salmon/Carmacks First Nation and was named after George Washington Carmack, who found coal near Tantalus Butte in 1893. Carmack built a trading post and traded with locals near the present site of Carmacks and also started a...
, Faro
Faro, Yukon
Faro is a small town in the central Yukon, Canada, formerly the home of the largest open pit lead–zinc mine in the world as well as a significant producer of silver and other natural resource ventures. The mine was built by the Ralph M. Parsons Construction Company of the USA with General...
, and Ross River
Ross River, Yukon
Ross River is an unincorporated community in the Yukon, Canada. It lies at the juncture of the Ross River and the Pelly River, along the Canol Road, not far from the Campbell Highway. Primary access to the Campbell Highway is a nine-mile access road of superior alignment, not the six-mile Canol...
.
YEC operates two wind turbines on Haeckel Hill near Whitehorse connected to the Whitehorse-Aishihik-Faro grid. The first turbine is a Bonus Energy 150 kW MARK III installed in 1993. The second turbine, a Vestas
Vestas
Vestas Wind Systems A/S is a Danish manufacturer, seller, installer, and servicer of wind turbines. It is the largest in the world, but due to very rapid growth of its competitors, its market share decreased from 28% in 2007 to 12.5% in 2009...
660 kW V47 LT II was later installed in 2000. These units need to be specially adapted to deal with icing and the northern environment.
A second grid, brought on-line in 2004, connects Dawson City
Dawson City, Yukon
The Town of the City of Dawson or Dawson City is a town in the Yukon, Canada.The population was 1,327 at the 2006 census. The area draws some 60,000 visitors each year...
(reliant on diesel power from 1966 to 2004) via Stewart Crossing to Mayo
Mayo, Yukon
Mayo is a village in the Yukon, Canada, along the Silver Trail and the Stewart River. The population was 248 in 2006. It is also the home of the First Nation of Nacho Nyak Dun, whose primary language is Northern Tutchone. Nacho Nyak Dun translates into "big river people". It is serviced by Mayo...
, Elsa
Elsa, Yukon
Elsa is a privately owned mining town based on silver, lead, and zinc in Yukon, Canada. It is located between the valley of the Stewart River to the south and the Mackenzie Mountains to the north. It is to the north of Whitehorse, and east of the Alaskan border...
and Keno City
Keno City, Yukon
Keno City is a small community in the Yukon at the end of the Silver Trail highway. Population was about 20 in 2001. Keno City was the site of a former silver-lead mining area proximal to Keno Hill. Keno City is 13 kilometres away from the Elsa, Yukon, which is owned by Alexco Resource Corp who...
drawing on the 5 MW hydro facility just north of Mayo that had mines at Elsa as primary customer until 1989.
The government of John Ostashek
John Ostashek
John Ostashek was a former Yukon politician. An entrepreneur, he was elected leader of the Yukon Party in June 1992 and led it to victory in the fall 1992 election in which he also won a seat in the legislature for the first time....
(1992-1996) had promised to connect Mayo, Stewart Crossing and Pelly Crossing
Pelly Crossing, Yukon
Pelly Crossing is community in the Yukon, Canada. It lies where the Klondike Highway crosses the Pelly River. Population in 2008 was 291.It is the home of the Selkirk First Nation, and home to the Northern Tutchone culture. Cultural displays and artifacts are housed in a replica of Big Jonathan House...
to the main southern grid at Carmacks. To date, this project has not been developed, and Pelly Crossing remains on its own diesel generator. There are preliminary plans at this time to possibly proceed with such a connection, with interest in using it to provide power to two new mines in the Minto area.
Yukon Electrical Company Limited operates diesel generators to serve customers in Watson Lake-Upper Liard
Watson Lake, Yukon
Watson Lake is a town at historical mile 635 on the Alaska Highway in the southeastern Yukon close to the British Columbia border. Population in December 2004 was 1,547 ....
, Swift River, Burwash Landing
Burwash Landing, Yukon
-Tourism:Burwash Landing has a post office, community hall, laundromat and church. Visitor services include gas, food, camping and lodging. Walking trail along the Alaska Highway between Duke Trading Post and Dalan Campground. Flightseeing trips of Kluane National Park and Reserve are also...
, Destruction Bay, Beaver Creek
Beaver Creek, Yukon
- External links :* *...
, Pelly Crossing and Old Crow
Old Crow, Yukon
-Population data:-External links:******, a National Film Board of Canada documentary...
. The possibility of a grid connection to Atlin, British Columbia
Atlin, British Columbia
Atlin is a community in northwestern British Columbia, Canada, located on the eastern shore of Atlin Lake. In addition to continued gold-mining activity, Atlin is a tourist destination for fishing, hiking and Heliskiing. As of 2004, there are 450 permanent residents.The name comes from Áa Tlein,...
has probably been eliminated by a decision to construct a hydro project near Atlin.
The Yukon has no connections to the continental power grid, therefore, YEC cannot sell to or buy from networks in Alaska
Alaska
Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
, British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
, Alberta
Alberta
Alberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...
or the Northwest Territories
Northwest Territories
The Northwest Territories is a federal territory of Canada.Located in northern Canada, the territory borders Canada's two other territories, Yukon to the west and Nunavut to the east, and three provinces: British Columbia to the southwest, and Alberta and Saskatchewan to the south...
. In addition to the extreme expense of such transmission lines, they would also be subject to disruption from solar flares.
Generating Facilities
| Name | Location | Fuel | Units net capacity (Date) | Capacity (net MW) | Link |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aishihik | Aishihik Lake Aishihik Lake -References:*... |
Hydroelectric |
|
30 MW | http://www.yukonenergy.ca/services/facilities/hydro/ |
| Dawson | Dawson City Dawson City, Yukon The Town of the City of Dawson or Dawson City is a town in the Yukon, Canada.The population was 1,327 at the 2006 census. The area draws some 60,000 visitors each year... |
Diesel generator Diesel generator A diesel generator is the combination of a diesel engine with an electrical generator to generate electrical energy.... |
|
http://www.yukonenergy.ca/services/facilities/diesel/ | |
| Faro | Faro Faro, Yukon Faro is a small town in the central Yukon, Canada, formerly the home of the largest open pit lead–zinc mine in the world as well as a significant producer of silver and other natural resource ventures. The mine was built by the Ralph M. Parsons Construction Company of the USA with General... |
Diesel generator Diesel generator A diesel generator is the combination of a diesel engine with an electrical generator to generate electrical energy.... |
|
http://www.yukonenergy.ca/services/facilities/diesel/ | |
| Haeckel Hill | Whitehorse Whitehorse, Yukon Whitehorse is Yukon's capital and largest city . It was incorporated in 1950 and is located at kilometre 1476 on the Alaska Highway in southern Yukon. Whitehorse's downtown and Riverdale areas occupy both shores of the Yukon River, which originates in British Columbia and meets the Bering Sea in... |
Wind Power Wind power Wind power is the conversion of wind energy into a useful form of energy, such as using wind turbines to make electricity, windmills for mechanical power, windpumps for water pumping or drainage, or sails to propel ships.... |
|
0.81MW | http://www.yukonenergy.ca/services/facilities/wind/ |
| Mayo | Mayo Mayo, Yukon Mayo is a village in the Yukon, Canada, along the Silver Trail and the Stewart River. The population was 248 in 2006. It is also the home of the First Nation of Nacho Nyak Dun, whose primary language is Northern Tutchone. Nacho Nyak Dun translates into "big river people". It is serviced by Mayo... |
Diesel generator Diesel generator A diesel generator is the combination of a diesel engine with an electrical generator to generate electrical energy.... |
|
http://www.yukonenergy.ca/services/facilities/diesel/ | |
| Mayo Hydro | Mayo Mayo, Yukon Mayo is a village in the Yukon, Canada, along the Silver Trail and the Stewart River. The population was 248 in 2006. It is also the home of the First Nation of Nacho Nyak Dun, whose primary language is Northern Tutchone. Nacho Nyak Dun translates into "big river people". It is serviced by Mayo... |
Hydroelectric |
|
5 MW | http://www.yukonenergy.ca/services/facilities/hydro/ |
| Whitehorse Rapids
(Schwatka Lake Schwatka Lake Schwatka Lake is a reservoir created by the damming of the Yukon River in Whitehorse, Yukon, completed in 1958. The dam provides electrical power generation and is operated by the Yukon Energy Corporation. The White Horse Rapids, which gave the city its name, are now under the lake... ) |
Whitehorse Whitehorse, Yukon Whitehorse is Yukon's capital and largest city . It was incorporated in 1950 and is located at kilometre 1476 on the Alaska Highway in southern Yukon. Whitehorse's downtown and Riverdale areas occupy both shores of the Yukon River, which originates in British Columbia and meets the Bering Sea in... |
Hydroelectric |
|
40 MW | http://www.yukonenergy.ca/services/facilities/hydro/ |
| Whitehorse Rapids | Whitehorse Whitehorse, Yukon Whitehorse is Yukon's capital and largest city . It was incorporated in 1950 and is located at kilometre 1476 on the Alaska Highway in southern Yukon. Whitehorse's downtown and Riverdale areas occupy both shores of the Yukon River, which originates in British Columbia and meets the Bering Sea in... |
Diesel generator Diesel generator A diesel generator is the combination of a diesel engine with an electrical generator to generate electrical energy.... |
|