Yukon hydroelectric site options narrowed to 6

A team of consultants, charged with planning Yukon's energy future, has narrowed the list of possible hydroelectric sites to six, from a list of ten that were studied over the last year. The original list of options was more than 200.

Midgard Consulting was hired by the Yukon Development Corporation to find sites for a new dam that could generate anywhere from 14 to 300 megawatts of power. The goal is to meet Yukon's power needs for at least the next 50 years.

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​All six sites now under consideration are in the Stewart, Pelly and Liard river watersheds. They would all generate at least 54 megawatts of power and have capital costs ranging from under $1 billion to almost $3 billion. 

The options are:

• Detour Canyon — on the Pelly River near Faro. 60 megawatt capacity, $1.4 billion capital cost.
• Fraser Falls — on the Stewart River near Mayo. 57 megawatt capacity, $1.2 billion capital cost.
• Granite Canyon — on the MacMillan and Pelly Rivers near Pelly Crossing. 57 megawatt capacity, $847 million capital cost.
• Two Mile Canyon — on the Hess River, near Mayo. 54 megawatt capacity, $919 million capital cost.
• False Canyon and Middle Canyon — on the Frances River, near Watson Lake. 78 megawatts capacity, $1.96 billion capital cost.  
• Slate Rapids and Hoole Canyon — on the Pelly River, near Faro. 107 megawatt capacity, $2.96 billion capital cost.

"All the studies we have been doing to date have focussed on four areas of interest: technical issues, economics, environmental impacts and potential benefits, and socio-economic impacts and potential benefits," said Peter Helland with Midgard.

Evaluation of the six sites also included factors such as the proximity to the existing transmission grid, the length of new roads to be built, and the likely impact on wildlife and traditional land use.

"The major finding is that 'next generation hydro' remains a viable candidate for consideration when compared to a renewables portfolio that includes wind, solar, small hydro with storage, and pump storage hydro," Helland said.

Connecting to B.C. or Alaska too expensive

The consultants also analyzed the possibility of connecting Yukon's power grid to neighbouring electrical grids, allowing the territory to purchase or sell energy. 

They considered connecting to either Iskut, B.C. or Fairbanks, Alaska. Neither proved desirable.

"Given the potential price at which we can import and export energy, the long transmission lines, relatively small Yukon demand, and low carrying capacity, the transmission lines to either Alaska or B.C. are uneconomic," the consultant's report reads.

The Yukon Development Corporation will now review all the technical documents to make a recommendation to cabinet of one or more potential hydro sites. Construction isn't expected to begin for at least 10 years.