Yukon Energy wants to begin construction of its new liquefied natural gas (LNG) generating plant and storage facility near the Whitehorse Rapids Dam next May.

In its application earlier this month to the Yukon Environmental and Socio-economic Assessment Board (YESAB), the publicly owned utility said time is of the essence.

Yukon Energy wants to have the two generators powered by natural gas operational for the fall of 2014, says the application.

"We realize this is a challenging schedule to complete the assessment, obtain a decision document, and put in place the necessary regulatory authorizations for the project,” writes Yukon Energy president David Morrison in his cover letter to YESAB.

"Based on our discussions, we feel this is achievable, and we are committed to doing everything necessary to achieve this goal.”

Yukon Energy is proposing to replace two aging diesel generators with the natural gas units. They would also require an area to store LNG trucked up from Shell Canada's LNG facility near Calgary.

The Crown corporation estimates the total cost of the project at $34 million. Approximately $10.5 million will be required to purchase the two portable generators.

Another $23.5 million will be needed to prepare the site and storage facility next to Robert Service Way, between the White Pass and Yukon Route railway tracks and the roadway.

Morrison announced earlier this summer Yukon Energy has entered into an agreement with the Kwanlin Dun First Nation and the Ta'an Kwach'an Council to form a business partnership in the LNG project.

Yukon Energy estimates ratepayers would save about $2.7 million in fuel costs in 2015.

And, by 2017, annual savings would be an estimated $4.2 million annually, the corporation estimates.

The seven diesel generators at the Whitehorse dam are used largely for back-up generation, though they're often used in the winter to meet basic load requirements during periods of peak demand.

The environmental and socio-economic review is being conducted by the assessment board's executive committee.

Committee chair Stephen Mills said the size of the project dictated the screening be conducted at the executive committee level.

The LNG conversion project proposed for Watson Lake was screened by the board's designated office in Watson Lake because it was a much smaller, less complicated proposal, Mills explained.

Screenings by the executive committee are relatively uncommon, they take longer, are more expensive and are generally more indepth.

Only four have resulted in decision documents since YESAB came into force in 2005, compared to several hundred screenings conducted by the six district offices.

Mills said the review process is in no way driven or influenced by Yukon Energy's proposed schedule.

Time lines for the different stages of the review are established, including two separate periods for the public to provide input on the proposal, he said.

Mills said it's not unreasonable to think the executive committee could have a decision in time to meet Yukon Energy's spring schedule.

It will largely depend on the adequacy of the 232-page project proposal submitted, and how quickly the Crown corporation can supply additional information if requested, he said.

Mills said the assessment board has already been assured by the two local First Nations that they've been properly consulted about the proposal by Yukon Energy.

The executive committee, he said, has already sent the Yukon government and both First Nations copies of the project proposal to see if they identify any areas where more information might be required from Yukon Energy.

Morrison has asked the assessment board in his letter to notify the corporation as soon as possible if more information is required.

Critics have jumped all over the project proposal. They have suggested it's part of a bigger plan by the Yukon Party government to ultimately promote further development of natural gas resources in the territory.

The only economical method to extract natural gas in the Yukon is through the controversial use of hydraulic fracturing, critics argue.

They also suggest that simply by switching from diesel to natural gas, the Yukon is supporting the practice of fracking.

There will come a day when Yukon Energy won't know whether the natural gas it's importing was produced by fracking or conventional methods, critics argue.

Embracing natural gas, they say, amounts to condoning the use of hydraulic fracturing, which is much more harmful to the environment on the whole than continuing to burn diesel.

Morrison has defended the project as cost-effective and more environmentally friendly because air emissions from the natural gas generating units are much cleaner than emissions from diesel.

Yukon Energy has entered into a five-year supply contract with Shell.

The agreement guarantees the supply of natural gas will be from conventional methods of extraction, Morrison has said.

In addition to the YESAB screening, Yukon Energy must still apply to the Yukon Utilities Board for permission to apply the $34-million project cost to the ratebase.