Whitehorse Daily Star

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Whitehorse Star photos: J.P. Pinard and Don Roberts

Embrace renewable energy, council urged

City council heard Monday from two local activists pressing for more focus on the need to embrace renewable energy.

By Chuck Tobin on April 16, 2019

City council heard Monday from two local activists pressing for more focus on the need to embrace renewable energy.

Energy consultant J.P. Pinard and Don Roberts of Yukoners Concerned appeared as separate delegates, but both emphasized the same thing.

There’s an urgent need to reduce the dependency on fossil fuels for energy and instead turn to renewable energy sources that are available, they said.

Here in Whitehorse, Pinard said, there are hydro, wind, solar, and biomass.

The Raven Recycling Society and the Teslin Tlingit Council have shown that biomass – burning wood, such as wood chips produced locally – is a viable form of energy that displaces the need to burn heating oil, Pinard said.

Wood generated from Firesmarting projects can supply the feed stock, he added.

The Kwanlin Dun First Nation and its development corporation are working with business partners to advance the proposal for a wind farm on Haeckel Hill, Pinard pointed out.

“Whitehorse has the expertise and the institutional capacity to build the Yukon’s renewable energy economy,” Pinard insisted.

“I propose a working group made up of a steering committee and those experts and institutions, and I propose that you take a lead in creating this group.”

He said Whitehorse as a municipal government has the opportunity to partner with First Nations to build a renewable energy economy.

“You need renewable energy to heat your buildings and power your transportation,” Pinard told council.

“Their development corporations can provide the renewables to meet your energy needs.”

Roberts reminded council how the federal government’s recent report on climate change said slowing down the impact of a warming climate will only occur with a substantial reduction in greenhouse gas emissions.

“We have a collective obligation to change Yukon’s energy production and consumption,” Roberts said. “We as Yukoners have the political will.”

He criticized the Yukon government for not having what he described as a comprehensive renewable energy plan.

For too long, the government and its Crown corporation,Yukon Energy, have remained fixated on fossil fuels rather than focusing on local renewable options, he said.

Now, Roberts said, there’s even a discussion of a new $60-million generating plant using diesel or natural gas to power the turbines.

The Yukon government is failing to recognize that burning fossil fuels is the driver behind climate change, he said.

But worse, added Roberts, is the government’s move toward adding to the problem by producing even more greenhouse gas emissions.

Roberts invited Yukon Energy Minister Ranj Pillai to a meeting before the end of the May to discuss how and when the government plans to transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy in a significant manner.

Yukoners Concerned, said the organization’s chair, is looking forward to discussing solutions with Pillai and his government.

“To best facilitate the economic development potential of a diverse and independent renewable energy grid in Yukon takes comprehensive planning,” said Roberts.

“To date, the Yukon government has not made that political commitment.”

Yukon Energy maintains it needs reliable generation, flip-of-the-switch generation, to meet the growing demand on the grid.

Renewables like wind just don’t provide that dependability, and when it’s 40 below, reliability is tantamount, the Crown corporation insists.

Comments (22)

Up 2 Down 0

My Opinion on Apr 23, 2019 at 1:23 pm

The Yukon has the highest percentage of renewable energy in Canada and most of the world for that matter. Get us another Dam and problem solved. The fish will love you, they love lakes.

Up 11 Down 1

Peter Cambridge on Apr 22, 2019 at 2:26 pm

I think going before council is usually a waste of time.

If you are in a wheel chair or a cute child with a precocious message they may feel sorry or warm up to you but generally you are viewed as a complainer and nuisance and they would prefer if you just stayed home.

How do you obtained enlightened feedback from mayor and council? The answer is to get better people in there.

Up 19 Down 1

Schmegma on Apr 21, 2019 at 3:21 pm

I remember years ago going to forestry looking for a wood permit, they sent me out to fox lake “nothing in city limits” now the govie is going to pay through the nose to fire smart. It could easily have be done for free if they weren’t so ridiculous.

Up 13 Down 2

Josey Wales on Apr 21, 2019 at 7:49 am

Hey Max...this has to be thee absolute funniest thing I think you have ever posted.
“I urge Whitehorse City Council and Government of Yukon to act rationally and in the best interests of its residents.”

I understand you were serious, but reads like humour in a Dennis Miller kinda way.
Say again MAD CoW is milking us all, along with their sycophants and special interests.
Time we take back the farm from the dogs and the MAD CoW.
OJW haters and those suckling from “our” CoW teat...hate away.

Up 13 Down 2

Wilf on Apr 20, 2019 at 4:02 pm

Interesting comments. First carbon in the Yukon is virtually nonexistent in our atmosphere because of all the trees we have and the same for Canada as a whole when you do the math on carbon and trees.
The Trudeau report on Canada warming up is false. Canada has not warmed in 25 years and science has proven that.
Climate is changing and will always change like it has done since the beginning of the earth.
Climate change is a hoax as the founder of green peace stated.
History has shown all these things that was going to happen to the earth were all false and were based on making money and did not care about the earth.
Sally you burn wood for heat right? You are putting carbon into the air.
You cut trees but don't replace them even if they are dead which uses carbon to process.
Yukon removes US carbon from the atmosphere not from the air.
Things that science see that affects our climate is distance of the sun from the earth. Earth quakes, natural progression which is the most interesting one.

Up 15 Down 1

Peter Cambridge on Apr 20, 2019 at 11:27 am

Gee Josee Wales
You did not deserve that one

Shame Shame Patti

Up 1 Down 15

Politico on Apr 19, 2019 at 4:35 pm

It's amazing, all the nay sawyers here and not one solution given except it's all fake. It's a good thing no one listens to you.

Up 22 Down 4

Josey Wales on Apr 19, 2019 at 9:00 am

Gee PA Patti....you processed all that from my post, wow!
It would seem as I suggested prior that you need to get over yourself.
I do understand it is a tactic of the fringe to attack dissenters, I get that seriously, I do.
This is the resurrection weekend, I hope that reality is resurrected in our community and our country very very soon.
Congratulations on having a fine family, I come from a fine family too.
If you loathe me so much, do what you appear to do with reality...ignore and disregard and Passover.

Up 6 Down 36

Patti Eyre on Apr 18, 2019 at 2:27 pm

@Josie one of my 3 children is growing into a transgendered and wonderful young adult. Shame on you and your hateful, glib comments about it. I hope and pray for your salvation, for you need much of both!

Up 23 Down 5

Joe on Apr 18, 2019 at 12:55 pm

How about we do what humans have done for millions of years" adapt" . Climate change is a reality but punishing ourselves and making life more difficult for ourselves to feel better about something we have little or no control over is stupid. Oh ya if everyone in the world took part in reducing pollution we could probably (can't confirm) make a bit of difference, however that's not the case. Be real, kids are smart and they will figure out what to do next.

Up 26 Down 10

North_of_60 on Apr 17, 2019 at 10:20 pm

People who have been keeping up with current science know that CO2 does not make the planet warmer, CO2 makes it greener. There has been no significant warming for 25 years in Canada and the past three years have been cooling; meanwhile global CO2 continues to increase. Don't be fooled by people still flogging the 'GreenHouseGas' dead horse, they've been debunked around the world. So called "CarbonTaxes" are a scam.

YE could use less fuel if they stored more water in the huge southern lakes reservoir. Totally renewable and 5 times more efficient than wind or solar. The infrastructure to do it is already in place. It's not being done for political reasons.

Up 18 Down 11

BnR on Apr 17, 2019 at 3:45 pm

A news article on anything to do with green energy is like a big wind shaking the tree. The nuts just come falling out...

Up 12 Down 52

Sally Wright on Apr 17, 2019 at 11:40 am

Yukon Energy and Yukon Government needs to come to the table and honestly explain what their plan is for getting Yukon people off of fossil fuels is.
YEC's CEO was on the radio yesterday explaining how multi-year drought is affecting the Hydro resources on the Grid. They expect to be burning baseload LNG all next winter.
YEC is suffering from Climate Change and escalating it at the same time! This is just what Yukon Conservation Society foretold during the YESAB and YUB hearings on the LNG project in 2014. LNG is Not flick of the switch and it is a very potent ghg. YEC's refusal to develop a grid which has many different types of renewable energy has made them very vulnerable to Climate Change. YEC refuses to recognise how wind energy can help hydro. The wind models show that wind is stronger in the winter and can meet the space heating load if coupled with Electrical Thermal Storage, and a smart grid.
When is our territory going to have a proper Energy Strategy that helps us all move forward together to reduce our ghgs. The weather is not getting any better.

Up 30 Down 8

Just Sayin' on Apr 17, 2019 at 9:36 am

Sigh, yet again instead of being proactive, the Yukon is reactive. Biomass generation is inefficient for the Yukon. Raven's biomass was supposed to burn the wood pallets they used, however, the nails were left so, they purchase their wood from Haines Junction... you know reducing greenhouse gases through transportation? Teslin gets their wood from Watson Lake, they do not generate their own wood.
The ideas are great, however, the long term prospects are not. Trees take a very long time to grow in the Yukon, so upon fire smart being complete, where would we get the wood?

There is this nifty thing called waste to energy incineration where our trash (currently buried in a borehole and communities such as Teslin hauls in their domestic waste) burn the waste and generate steam to heat buildings and or electricity. A properly run-waste to energy plant, sorts out the materials prior to incineration, however, is recycling truly green in the Yukon; it takes over 1000 KM to get our materials recycled. The materials sent can only be recycled to a certain degree, before they are no longer viable for recycling. Furthermore, materials we think are being recycled are not, for example, cardboard has been deposited into the landfill by Raven because it has become degraded and will not be recycled down south.

These plants are similar to biomass ones, except the materials which are burned tend to be the ones people generate anyways. If operating correctly (just like biomass plants have to operate correctly) these plants can incinerate up to 90 percent of the waste. Even the ash, can be used for manufacturing cinder blocks and or road construction (upon testing of course). Metals can be collected and sold. Even the G7 countries are thinking of using waste to energy incineration for burning ocean harvested plastics.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/waste-to-energy-incineration-1.4831798
These plants cause less air pollution than a diesel plant, but more than natural gas plant. However, they are designed with pollution control measures in places such as scrubbers and high temperatures coupled with efficient combustion to decrease the air pollution. The only issue would be having capable accountable people to manage this.

Up 52 Down 15

Max Mack on Apr 17, 2019 at 12:27 am

I urge Whitehorse City Council and Government of Yukon to act rationally and in the best interests of its residents.
We live in a remote, very cold part of the world that depends on cheap, abundant fossil fuels to survive. And goods must be trucked thousands of kilometres to reach Whitehorse.

Wind, solar and biomass cannot compete with fossil fuels.
Please do not buy into this madness.

Up 15 Down 44

Peter Cambridge on Apr 16, 2019 at 10:31 pm

Nice to see these men provide positive information.
We have to start doing better for our children.

Up 33 Down 17

Josey Wales on Apr 16, 2019 at 10:31 pm

Why do we never hear from freedom of expression advocates, or traditional family value advocates or fiscal responsibility advocates?
Are they not welcome in our hall, the headquarters of fiefdoms?
Nope...always the chicken little crews, green washers, snake oil peddlers and gender benders.

Up 32 Down 8

Complicated formula on Apr 16, 2019 at 9:01 pm

Renewable energy production is of course the preferred process for Yukon to power the territory into the future. One has to question the method in which it is being financed. The Feds are throwing millions of dollars into First Nation development corps to install wind and solar installations to offset the diesel use in communities off the grid. But they don’t seem to want to invest in Yukon Energy’s capability to increase their production capability. Instead their thought is to have the small electrical suppliers to sell their excess power back to the grid.
Now their brain child is to invest in a large battery to store power for the 2 or so months when solar and wind can’t pickup the slack. I’m not sure where all these experts in the field have been hiding. But I for one do not want to end up like Ontario who ended up with very expensive “renewable” power. They probably had experts too. Most times this expertise is in mining the Feds. I hope for caution from our elected representatives, and not knee jerk reaction such as this. If the Feds want to throw away millions of dollars, let’s invest in our existing power provider. At least it won’t be a multitude of partnerships with questionable motives.

Up 31 Down 16

North_of_60 on Apr 16, 2019 at 6:06 pm


Over the past 25 years, since scientists began to warn that the planet was warming in earnest, there has not been any warming when one looks at the untampered data provided by the Japan meteorology Agency (JMA) that were measured by 9 different stations across Canada.
This proves the LIBgov has been manipulating the data collected by EnvtCdn to justify their CarbonTax scam.
The data for Whitehorse on the graph at the link is quite revealing.
https://www.climatedepot.com/2019/04/03/cbc-claims-canada-warming-twice-as-fast-as-globe-yet-data-tell-a-different-story-no-warming-in-25-years/

Up 36 Down 8

Gringo on Apr 16, 2019 at 3:59 pm

These are good men however can I suggest that they take a flight across the pacific to a place called China.....you will notice upon your arrival that my taking an e-Bike to work will have zero impact on global warming aka climate change.

Up 30 Down 3

Arthur on Apr 16, 2019 at 3:12 pm

I am a huge believer in the need to focus on renewable energy. Yukon Energy is already operating above 90% capacity for much of the winter months, and additional electrically heated homes in Whistle Bend and condos in downtown Whitehorse will inevitably exacerbate this trend. But please consider the effects of increased biomass (read wood fired) electrical generation on the elderly, those who suffer from COPD and emphysema, and asthmatics. Let’s not trade one problem (carbon emissions and electricity shortages) for another. We need to proceed carefully to preserve our air quality. I’m not opposing biomass, but the thought of 77 additional biomass units in Whitehorse raises obvious concerns.

Up 41 Down 11

Al on Apr 16, 2019 at 2:55 pm

Hell do these people even live in the real world? It always sounds like la-la-land. I bet they even drove their car to give their sermon from the mount. I tire of all of this. A bunch of us barely eke out a living. Then along comes some bozo who thinks we need to do it his way. Oh and don't forget you get share in this wonderful nocturnal idea that is being espoused. Because in the end who in the hell do think is the payee.

Oh yes and it's sooooo important to have committees and steering committees and meetings and yet more meetings because then guys like these get to rake in more dough to "cover the expenses" - all on our dime.

Really get real, I mean really get real and look around outside your bubble !!

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