Yukon Energy selects potential sites for $100M fossil fuel generator project

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4 days ago

Yukon Energy has selected 10 potential sites for a $100-million fossil fuel generator project called the Whitehorse Power Centres.
The project will include two thermal power centres, and a new substation on Long Lake Road in Whitehorse. The utility is also considering a third power centre as a contingency. The generators will be powered by diesel, LNG, or both.
Yukon Energy has identified five potential sites for the generators north of Whitehorse's city centre, between the city's waste management facility and Deep Creek, and five other sites to the south, between Robert Service Way and the McCrae area.
The south power centre is expected to be in service by winter 2027, and the north power centre by winter 2030, according to Yukon Energy's project description.
The utility says the project is needed to keep up with the growing demand for electricity, which is highest in the territory's capital.
"Right now, there is an urgent need to build more sources of electricity that Yukoners can rely on during the winter," said Yukon Energy vice president Stephanie Cunha.
"Yukoners use about three times more electricity in the winter than they do in the summer."
Cunha says the project will add 150 MW of diesel or LNG capacity, which will be needed by 2040. Capacity refers to the amount of power that Yukon Energy needs to generate at a single point in time, Cunha said.
"This past week, Yukoners needed about 35 megawatts at any given time," Cunha said. "In the winter, Yukoners need about 110 megawatts at any given moment."
Yukon Energy primarily relies on hydropower to generate electricity, but for the past seven winters the utility has rented diesel generators to keep up with demand. Last winter, it rented 22 diesel generators, which cost $6.2 million.
Cunha says building the power centres is more cost-effective in the long term than continuing to rent diesel generators. She also said that the rental generators are "less reliable than permanent assets."
Project not 'in step' with rest of Canada
In its five-year plan, published in April 2025, the utility said it was "committed to advancing renewable electricity projects as a core component of our vision for the future."
However, Cunha says the utility needs to add fossil fuels first, to ensure that Yukoners can keep their lights on in the winter and that the utility can respond quickly to outages.
"The Yukon Energy system is under considerable strain at the moment…. From the utilities perspective, that's really the only option right now with regards to how dire the situation is in the Yukon," said Rosa Brown, a senior analyst with the Pembina Institute's renewables and remote communities program.
However, Brown says the project is not "in step" with the rest of Canada.
"Investment in new fossil fuel infrastructure also means continued commitment to infrastructure that's being phased out," she said.
In its project description, Yukon Energy said that the new power centres will help create the grid stability needed to develop more renewable resources like solar and wind.
She added that the power centres will include space for batteries that could store future solar and wind power.
First Nation calls for delay
Currently, the power centres project is in the Yukon Environmental and Socio-economic Assessment Board's (YESAB) pre-submission engagement process.
This stage allows First Nations and communities, among other affected parties, to review the project before Yukon Energy submits its full proposal to YESAB for assessment.
In letters to YESAB, Ta'an Kwäch'än Council and its development arm, Da Daghay Development Corporation, asked that YESAB postpone the deadline for the pre-submission engagement process.
As part of this phase, YESAB gives affected parties 15 days to request a postponement to a deadline. In its letter, Ta'an Kwäch'än Council said that 15 days is not enough time for the Nation to "undertake a detailed evaluation of this document to determine how long of a postponement is required."
In their letters to YESAB, the Nation and its development arm state that the project has the potential to impact treaty rights and their way of life, while also providing economic benefits.
They also say that given the length of Yukon Energy's project description, both the First Nation and the development corporation need more time to determine if a postponement is necessary.
"While we are not yet able to propose modifications to the process, we are similarly not in a position to endorse the project description," reads the letter from Ta'an Kwäch'än Council.
Yukon Energy asking for public input
In 2019, Yukon Energy proposed a similar project, to build a 20-megawatt thermal plant in Whitehorse, but that plan was later scrapped after consultations with the public. Some residents were concerned about the potential noise from the generators, and some suggested that Yukon Energy should pursue renewable energy alternatives instead.
Cunha says things have changed since 2019.
"Now, more so than in 2019, there is an urgent need to add new reliable, dependable sources of winter energy to meet increased demands," she said.
Yukon Energy will host two open houses about the Whitehorse Power Centres project, on Aug. 14 and Aug. 26 in Whitehorse. People can also leave comments about the project on Yukon Energy's website.