Yukon Energy will not be developing a waste-to-energy program, saying it would be too expensive.

"There just isn't a business case there,” spokeswoman Janet Patterson said in an interview Wednesday.

Patterson said over the past year, the energy corporation has completed a detailed analysis that took into account the City of Whitehorse's goal of diverting 50 per cent of its waste by 2015.

The study to determine whether waste-to-energy would be viable for the Yukon cost $500,000.

The federal government contributed $250,000 through the Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency and the City of Whitehorse contributed $8,000, Patterson said in an email this morning.

The corporation was looking at a capital cost of $40 million for two megawatts of power, she added.

"It's just a very high price tag for a relatively small amount of electricity,” she said.

The electricity produced would also be expensive, Patterson said in a Yukon Energy blog post. At approximately 31 cents a kWh, it would cost about the same as diesel.

"We live in a territory of only about 35,000 people, so we have to be really careful about any projects we do. It's a small rate base, and we can't do projects that are going to burden people more than is reasonable to expect,” she said.

Last year, Yukon Energy held public consultations on the waste-to-energy project. Patterson said officials heard from a variety of people with different opinions on the project, some really supported the idea.

Others, like the recycling groups in the city, worried it would affect the success of their programs, noting that they were in early stages, said Patterson.

The corporation is now turning its attention to exploring other potential energy sources.

Patterson said Yukon Energy is collecting data to determine the viability of wind energy, using a wind monitoring station on Tehcho, formerly Ferry Hill, in the Stewart Crossing area.

The corporation had hoped to have enough data by now, but the equipment froze for periods during the winter. It will likely be several more months before enough data have been collected she said.

Hydro enhancements, including the possibility of releasing water at Marsh Lake more slowly during the fall and winter, are also being studied, as is the possibility of using liquefied natural gas as a transition fuel.