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. Theoriginal list of options was more than 200.

Midgard Consulting was hired by the Yukon Development Corporation to find sites for a new damthat 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 sixsites nowunder considerationare in the Stewart,PellyandLiardriver watersheds. They wouldall generate at least 54 megawatts of power and have capital costs ranging from under $1 billionto almost $3 billion.

The options are:

• Detour Canyonon thePellyRivernear Faro. 60 megawatt capacity, $1.4 billion capital cost.
• FraserFalls on the Stewart River near Mayo. 57 megawatt capacity, $1.2 billion capital cost.
• Granite Canyon on theMacMillanandPellyRivers nearPellyCrossing. 57 megawatt capacity, $847 million capital cost.
• Two Mile Canyon on the Hess River, near Mayo. 54 megawattcapacity,$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 andHooleCanyon on thePellyRiver, 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 Hellandwith Midgard.

Evaluation ofthe six sites also includedfactors such as the proximitytothe 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 purchaseor 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," theconsultant's report reads.

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