Electricity heats 4,000-plus Yukon homes
The number of Yukon homes using electric heating last year was pegged at 4,038, according to numbers released last week by the territory’s Bureau of Statistics.
The number of Yukon homes using electric heating last year was pegged at 4,038, according to numbers released last week by the territory’s Bureau of Statistics.
The 2021 number represented an increase of 7.9 per cent or 261 customers compared to 2020, says the report from the bureau.
It says the energy sector contributed $66.1 million to the Yukon’s real domestic product last year, representing an increase of $2.4 million or 3.8 per cent compared to 2020.
The number of solar electric systems operating in the territory grew substantially in the last nine years, from one in 2013 to 517 in 2021.
The increase in solar electric systems also resulted in a substantial growth in the amount of exported generation to the grid after personal use.
In 2014, for instance, exported generation to the grid was six megawatt-hours compared to 2,251 MWh last year.
Of the 35 Yukon farms that reported using renewable energy producing systems in 2021, the report notes, 33 were using solar panels and two were using wind turbines.
The average monthly percentage of total electricity generation from fossil fuels – diesel and natural gas – during the months of November, December, January and February grew from 9.8 per cent in 2017 to 22.2 per cent in 2021.
Of the Yukon’s total generation capacity of 153.1 MW last year, hydro plants had a capacity of 93.5 MW or 61.1 per cent.
Diesel plants had an installed capacity of 46.4 MW or 30.3 per cent of the total followed by an LNG installed capacity of 13.2 MW or 8.6 per cent.
Of the total installed generating capacity last year, Yukon Energy had an installed capacity of 132.3 MW or 86.4 per cent of the total while ATCO Electric Yukon had a generating capacity of 20.8 MW, or 13.6 per cent of the total.
The report notes that in 2020, generation by fossil fuels accounted for 17.2 per cent of the total, the sixth-lowest in the country.
Between 2011 and 2020, the percentage of generation by fossil fuels has fluctuated from a low of 5.2 per cent in 2013 and 2014 to a high of 19.6 per cent in 2019.
The percentage of total electricity generated from LNG rose from 0.3 per cent in 2016 to nine per cent in 2020 while the percentage generated by diesel grew from 5.3 per cent in 2016 to 8.2 per cent in 2020.
Comments (25)
Up 15 Down 6
What the heck? on Jul 22, 2022 at 10:06 am
At Darrell Lewis on Jul 21, 2022 at 11:33 am:
I think your post is overly naive.
What is the same goal we are all heading too?
And, how do we get there? Because our Liberal shepherds have made it quite clear that there are enemies - This is why they fragment, compartmentalize, create narratives, and celebrate one culture as good, and another as bad all in the public square for everyone to see.
So, quite literally the Liberals have declared war on one segment of society. So, there is that.
I look forward to your reasoned response.
Up 4 Down 10
It’s okay if I’m okay on Jul 22, 2022 at 9:52 am
@ woodcutter on Jul 20, 2022 at 6:35 pm:
“Ya pick your poison to stay warm…”. This is representative of the shallow thinking that most Liberals offer up to any challenge. You don’t pick your poison, you are picking poison for others. Riverdale is near uninhabitable in the winter due to the thick, acrid, particulate matter that hangs suspended in the crisp cool air… Clogging up the lungs of others, tightening and constricting - Forced and laboured breathing, ventilators/dilators… Puff, puff… I can’t breathe!
Anything we do has consequences - Maybe try thinking of others for a change. Have some compassion because it sounds like you northerners don’t mind hurting and killing others with your activities - It’s the moral diffusion of Liberalism perhaps… ‘Everybody’ else is doing it… So…
Up 11 Down 3
Mitch on Jul 21, 2022 at 8:31 pm
@ Groucho - I appreciate you sharing the insight of how we take for granted forums of free speech no longer guaranteed by our charter. I commend the Whitehorse Star for maintaining such a forum and will take this opportunity to apologize for letting provocateurs rattle my nerves. Though it was my policy to not respond, we all find ourselves more politically engaged than we largely want to be, a consequence of poor governance, which I assert here, without partisanship. Civil debate would be refreshing. I predict however, that if we are not going to have civil debate now, while we still can, it will end in uncivil action later and the losses to Canada will be phyrric.
Two observations, 1: Conservatives need to admit their half assery in the past gave us 7 years of Liberal governance. 2: Pierre Trudeau and now, his survived son, have given us a two party system that has neither accomplished homogenous governance nor rescinded income tax in my lifetime or yours.
When true hard times come this fall, arguments will turn from inclusion and diversity to unnecessary medical deaths, malnutrition, untenable crime and a runaway country on fire.
So let's talk now. I have never known Canada to prosper or suffer under one party, that it didn't under all parties.
Up 6 Down 17
What a crock on Jul 21, 2022 at 7:09 pm
@Groucho anyone interested in political discourse knows that conservatives are the worst when it comes to childish name calling. Just look at all the variations of Trudeau's name they come up with. It is usually something to make him sound more feminine as well since cons think acting like or thinking like a woman is a HUGE insult.
Then when they get really worked up, they drive around their cities and towns honking their horns and waving childish flags around or maybe create childish memes. It's like they are stuck in high school.
Even locally here. Just look at the recent story about Yukon Party MLAs asking the premier if he wants to fight in the parking lot. Or when 3 of the Yukon Party MLAs including Currie Dixon, were part of a childish text group that talked about other MLAs. How much more childish and low brow can you get. So it's rather jaw dropping for you to say other parties or political types are bad for this type of thing. The pot calling the kettle black in the most extreme.
Up 5 Down 4
yukonlibby on Jul 21, 2022 at 6:03 pm
Hey Real Data - "As I type this we are using 54.12 MW. ALL of it is generate by Hydroelectric sources. 100%!!!
If you click on the past 12 months tab you'll also see that even in the deepest winter cold (December 2021) we only burned 14MW of thermal energy (and at the same time 48MW of Hydro)"
If you look at the whole month of July we've hit diesel and LNG multiple times. If you look at the whole year we've used the diesel and LNG every month. And by your own math we're running 20% of our power off of it sometimes. Those aren't good numbers. I've heard that more than once we've almost run out of diesel in our coldest months because YEC hardly has any storage capacity and they rely on a steady stream of B-trains up the highway...
Up 4 Down 6
Mitch on Jul 21, 2022 at 5:23 pm
And "Woodcutter" (allegedly) thank you, for showing that a Liberal such as yourself cannot even answer a question as you estimate it. I will ask again, WHO CUTS YOUR WOOD?
Up 8 Down 6
Mitch on Jul 21, 2022 at 5:03 pm
@Darrell - why do you think 600k people signed up Conservative? That is the only way we can ensure the opportunity to work together ever arises again in Canada. Liberalism is the antithesis of collective benevolence. Actually, it fails even in that, at least insofar as Trudeau envisions it. When Liberals want to stop blaming everyone else for their self made problems and cooperate, they will find we will be right here, waiting. You will find the same is true of the House of Commons. Get over yourself Liberals, we have a country to save with you, FROM YOU. I for one will respect anyone who affords me the same.
I will never again extend respect to anyone who does not reciprocate. I like your post, while I am incredibly frustrated with this infantile political demographic, I am as hopeful and optimistic that we can mend divisions through actions, not words. Twice in my life Liberals have ruined it almost beyond repair, both times under a Trudeau. You will forgive me my cynicism. I don't hate Liberals, I pity their leader. I invite you to save your country before it is too late and you start feeling your elected officials having "your back".
Up 14 Down 6
Darrell Lewis on Jul 21, 2022 at 11:33 am
Well as usual us folks are full of criticism for each other. How about use some of your energy to cooperate and come up with some sensible solutions together. We are all heading towards the same goal folks. We aren’t enemies we are friends. Let’s start acting like we are so.
Up 10 Down 2
Business 101 on Jul 21, 2022 at 11:05 am
@woodcutter, here’s a little math for you. How long can you continue to sell something for 1/2 of what you pay for it. Answer is you can’t. This 14% you speak of is when they pay almost double their selling price for what you sell back to the grid. Nice gig for the first few who invest. Just like if we all burn wood for heat, imagine the mess and the cost. Now think of the tax revenue the government is raking in with electricity and fuel sales. What would happen if we all became self sufficient with our solar panels and our Tesla? The government is a growing cancer. They will have to find that money somewhere. So enjoy your wood and solar while you're still in the black. But I wouldn’t brag about it. The longer it stays quiet, the longer you and a few benefit.
Up 25 Down 2
I Said Pardon on Jul 21, 2022 at 10:18 am
Prepare yourself and your household for rolling blackouts, coming to the power grid near you. Basic math determines that we are running out of electricity by adding load without expanding generation. The investments in solar and wind, no matter what the economic ROI is , will not keep up with demand to the grid when we need it most. Will we have 20 portable diesel generators hiding in Faro this winter? Because we're gonna need it.
Up 22 Down 7
Groucho d'North on Jul 21, 2022 at 9:55 am
Have you ever noticed that when a Liberal supporter gets frustrated, they become quite rude and begin calling others names? Some posters here believe they are so superior that they must talk down to others with different viewpoints. Yup, it's a Liberal trait, watch for it in most Canadian media stories. Disagree with the position taken by numerous taxpayers, they get called racist or misogynist or some other ill-applied label. School-yard politics at best. Often it is a desperation move when the Liberal participant in a debate cannot provide a worthy response, so the race card gets thrown into the game in an effort to halt the debate altogether.
If you have a worthy argument, it can be debated without name calling and trying to illustrate some higher level of intellect by being a verbal bully. Forums such as this one get shut down when participants cannot control their emotions and throw the big handfuls of vitriol at others. You know who you are.
Up 3 Down 10
woodcutter on Jul 20, 2022 at 6:38 pm
@ Mitch
Thanks for showing the world, that there are indeed stupid questions. Another woke statement ( there is no such thing as a stupid question) bites the dust.
Up 7 Down 4
Mitch on Jul 20, 2022 at 6:36 pm
@ woodcutter - propane, but again, your Liberal sense of deduction becomes you. I grew up with wood heat.
Up 5 Down 13
woodcutter on Jul 20, 2022 at 6:35 pm
@ storey
Ever live in Alberta or Taylor British Columbia? The smell and effects of the Natural Gas and Oil stacks burning off are such a clean break from the dangerous smoke from burning Dry Spruce.
Ya pick your poison to stay warm, or are you one of those new southern transplants that thinks homes stay warm on fairy dust?
Up 7 Down 5
Juniper Jackson on Jul 20, 2022 at 5:03 pm
Other posters in the past warned about the government pushing everyone to electric heat, when electricity is not only private, with stock for sale on the Market, that mean's stock holders want dividend payments. Give that a monopoly and users are well and truly hooped. Was it 2014? or 13? that YTG sold Yukon Electric/and the Crown, Yukon Energy Corp? There was quite a scandal at the time, when it was revealed some of the decision makers were holding stock.
Anyway.. Wood heat. I am so allergic to it..but, I understand why a family is turning to it for heat. So.. i bought air cleaners. I'm fine. The government will probably ban wood heat.. I wonder how the MLA's in the house, yeah! How is your portfolio looking.
And Thanks for cancelling the subsidy. NOT
Up 9 Down 7
Real data on Jul 20, 2022 at 4:24 pm
Mathew
I'm always fascinated by how you are so confidently wrong on everything you post.
Have a look over here the live data from YEC: https://yukonenergy.ca/energy-in-yukon/electricity-101/current-energy-consumption
As I type this we are using 54.12 MW. ALL of it is generate by Hydroelectric sources. 100%!!!
If you click on the past 12 months tab you'll also see that even in the deepest winter cold (December 2021) we only burned 14MW of thermal energy (and at the same time 48MW of Hydro)
Up 3 Down 2
Mitch on Jul 20, 2022 at 3:07 pm
Who cuts your wood for you?
Up 11 Down 15
Story at 6 - Firewood burning is deadly to vulnerable persons but Liberal Woodcutters support the Liberal Death Cult Initiatives on Jul 20, 2022 at 3:02 pm
@ woodcutter on Jul 20, 2022 at 8:19 am:
Nice to burn firewood eh? Health Canada states otherwise:
The main pollutants in wood smoke that cause health concerns are:
particulate matter (PM)
carbon monoxide (CO)
volatile organic compounds (VOCs)
polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs)
Wood smoke also contains small amounts of other toxic compounds, including nitrogen oxides and chlorinated dioxins. Nitrogen oxides can contribute to health and environmental hazards like smog and acid rain.
Health risks of wood smoke. Wood smoke can cause:
nausea
dizziness
headaches
eye, nose, and throat irritation
It can make asthma and other breathing (respiratory) problems worse.
Wood smoke can be a significant contributor to smog, which has been linked to severe health risks, including increased hospital admissions and even premature death.
Wood smoke can affect anyone, but these groups are especially vulnerable:
children
older adults
people with heart or lung problems
While others have difficulty breathing and living with your contaminants polluting the very air that gives them life you are likely sitting in the warm glow of a fire smoking your cannabis… You probably think about vacs obscene jabs and how people should be mandated to get the jab, side effects be damned!
Nice Woodcutter, nice!
How about you Liberals go develop some personal insight - You’re all pretty much freakishly scary… We could all use a reprieve.
Up 8 Down 10
woodcutter on Jul 20, 2022 at 8:19 am
@ Mitch
Liberal woodcutter here. when you do the math, if your able, there is a 14% ROI on these installed solar farms (Return on Investment, thought I would explain as i doubt you understand principles of business) I cant wait until I get approved and reap these safe and continuous income stream as I go into my retirement.
Nice to burn firewood, low cost to me cause, however for you, ya can pay thru the nose, or buy diesel at $2.00 litre. However I notice your the "new" type on conservative, acting like the NDP and want someone else to pay for everything.
Why don't you belly up and make your own investments? I know, the complexity of the paper work and the radicalisation of a the "solar" concept got you spooked and seeing corporate enemies everywhere.
Up 12 Down 12
iBrian on Jul 20, 2022 at 7:20 am
The first R in the 3-R’s is Reduce. Reduce volume of space in your house, Reduce your energy consumption, reduce the amount of Laundry (PS it’s the Yukon, you can wear a shirt 2 days in a row)
Actually it’s lost, the self interest and Woke culture justify all the wastes of energy by referencing the eco car they drive.
Up 3 Down 4
Skunk Funk on Jul 20, 2022 at 12:20 am
Now you got it! MITCH on Jul 19, 2022 at 3:21 pm:
We exist in this recursive loop of diversity, ray sism, misogynistic pontification, and gender euphoria etcetera because they were the rules that they then enforced only to turn “… around and blame us…” Absolutely, spot on there Mitch!
Good for you for finally cracking the code and letting us know about it. You are now one of us! Celebrate Mitch! We will provide you with our contact information at a secure drop site.
Sorry, they were all out of white rabbits so I’m gonna have to ask you to follow the black skunk, just for a bit, okay?
Up 32 Down 6
North_of_60 on Jul 20, 2022 at 12:11 am
Surplus solar electricity exported to the grid was 2,251 MWh in 2021. However almost all of that surplus solar happened when there was more than enough water to meet the demand with hydro. So YE spills water to buy solar at 3x the rate they could have generated with hydro. That extra cost is passed on to us through the "riders" on our electric bill. Those who don't have solar panels subsidize the few who can afford them, and our electricity bills increase every year. Greenwashed virtue-signaling is expensive.
Up 49 Down 17
Matthew on Jul 19, 2022 at 4:31 pm
Each new "green" home in Whistlebend has on avg 15,000W of baseboard heaters, run by diesel generators, soon to be charging a battery bank with a mere 10 year life cycle.. again, just a band aid on a much bigger issue.. always remember that free and clean energy has been around for decades! Cue up the dislikes for lack of IQ LoL
Up 34 Down 10
MITCH on Jul 19, 2022 at 3:21 pm
So, here is the perfect example of industry passing the buck on a lucrative opportunity to address these issues. Solar grid on residences wind the meter back, so if every home had them, we would be supporting the energy grid to be able to meet public utility need. So, why are the consumers buying these grids for themselves- if we are doing this to save your energy company, why are you not investing in our homes and providing the solar systems, as well as installation, as an investment in green energy?
Yet another example of externalized risk by corporations onto the consumer base after nearly two centuries of undercutting us for ill gotten profit, only to turn around and blame us for consuming the only reality you sold us.
Up 25 Down 9
Wilf Carter on Jul 19, 2022 at 2:29 pm
What happened to the energy plan developed in 2014 so we could go on more green energy like hydro that was environmentally safe actually improves bird and fish habitat?