YUKON ENERGY SCENARIOS

OVERVIEW OF YUKON

Yukon is the smallest and westernmost of Canada’s three territories with a population of 43,
744 as of March 2022. It is an area of rugged mountains and high plateau, sparsely populated
and unspoiled wilderness with an area of 183, 163 square miles. Yukon was disjointed from the
North-West Territories in 1898 as the Yukon Territory. The territory is named after the Yukon
River, the longest river in Yukon. The territory is the approximate shape of a right triangle,
bordering the U.S. state of Alaska to the west and northwest for 1,210 kilometres (752 mi)
mostly along longitude 141° W, the Northwest Territories to the east and British Columbia to
the south.

Energy Scenarios in Yukon

Yukoners have generally depend on fossil fuels such as wood and diesel for commercial and
residential heating. In 2005, 64% of buildings were heated by diesel/stove oil, 18% by wood and
13% by electricity (Yukon Bureau of Statistics, 2008, pg 6). The remaining 5% of buildings were
heated by propane. Yukon energy end use demand in 2019 was 8.7 petajoules (PJ).
Transportation sector accounted for 65% of total energy demand, industrial 14%, commercial at
12%, and residential 9% (Figure 1)

Figure 1: Yukon energy end use demand

Yukon’s electricity comes mainly from legacy hydro power, built from 1953 to 1985 by a Federal
crown corporation, the Northern Canada Power Commission (NCPC). This Corporation was
formed under the Department of Indian and Northern Affairs (DIAND) in the 1950’s to develop
electrical infrastructure across the north (EMR, 2008). In 2006, 93.2% of the electricity
generated in the Yukon was from hydro, 0.2% from wind, and 6.6% from diesel (Yukon Bureau
of Statistics, 2008, pg 1). At present most Yukon communities and all industrial customers are
linked to hydroelectric grids that use fossil fuel generators for intermittent peaking and backup
use only. The five communities of Watson Lake, Destruction Bay/Burwash Landing, Beaver
Creek, Old Crow and Swift River still depend on local diesel generation for their electricity
because they are located far-off from the two existing hydro grids to be economically
connected. Watson Lake is the largest with a population of 1,594 as of December, 2008. In
general, the electricity sector is quite green because of its legacy hydro but this existing
renewable source of electrical energy will be fully utilized within a couple of years and new
electricity sources will be needed.

It is noteworthy that the transportation sector accounts for the greatest portion of the fossil
fuel used in the Yukon. This was because Yukon has no ports or rail systems to connect it to
southern Canada and almost all goods and commodities are trucked to and from Skagway,
Alaska, the nearest tidewater port. All gasoline, diesel, home heating fuel and propane used in
Yukon are imported through truck as a result, emissions are generated in the process of
delivery of these fossil fuels to the Yukon before they are used locally for transportation,
heating and power generation use.

Transportation which is the dominant sources of emissions in Yukon have remained relatively
consistent between 2010 and 2019 (Figure 2). Road transportation continues to make up
slightly over half of all emissions, accounting for 55 per cent in 2010 and 56 per cent in 2019. It
is notable, however, that within this category, the proportion of diesel has decreased while the
proportion of gasoline has increased. While emissions from on-road diesel remained relatively
consistent over this period, emissions from on-road gasoline increased by 64 kilotonnes, or 41
per cent, from 2010 to 2019.
 Figure 2: Yukon emission by fuel type in 2010 and 2019

Emissions from electricity generation have steadily increased over this period, and made up seven
per cent of overall emissions in 2019 as compared to three per cent in 2010. The proportion of
emissions from aviation, heating and all other sources remained relatively consistent over this period.
The percentage of emissions from mining is variable year-to-year, and made up a slightly lower
proportion of total emissions in 2019 (8 per cent) as compared to 2010 (11 per cent).
Emissions for all categories in the interim years remained relatively consistent over time as well
(Figure 3 and Table 4). However, in years where Yukon’s emissions were particularly high, such as
2011 and 2018, emissions from mining, aviation and/or on-road diesel are visibly higher as compared
to other years. This points to these three fuel types as potential drivers of inter-annual variation . In
contrast there was slight reduction in green house emission in 2020 when compare to 2019
level. This was due to the COVID 19 pandemic restriction of movement (fig 3).
 Figure 3: 2020 total emissions and Key emission sources

Table 1: GHG emission from 2009 to 2020

Emissions from 2009 to 2020 for all the categories remained relatively consistent over time (Table
4). Conversely, in years 2011 and 2019 where Yukon’s emissions were particularly high, emissions
from mining, aviation and/or on-road diesel are visibly higher as compared to other years. This
points to these three fuel types as potential drivers of inter-annual variation.

Territory-wide demographic and economic factors such as population change and gross domestic
product (GDP) impact the Yukon’s emissions significantly. Overall, a growing population and
growing economy appear to be tied to the observed increase in greenhouse gas emissions.
Between 2010 and 2020, the Yukon’s GDP increased by 19 per cent, while greenhouse gas emissions
increased five per cent over the same period (Figure 4). Comparable to GDP, the Yukon’s
population increased by 24 percent between 2009 and 2019. This increase has been consistent from
year to year, growing from approximately 34,000 people in 2009 to 42,000 people in 2020. While the
Yukon’s greenhouse gas emissions also increased during this period, emissions and population
appear to be less correlated than emissions and GDP. (Figure 5).

Figure 4: Yukon’s greenhouse gas emissions and gross domestic product

Figure 5: Yukon’s greenhouse gas emissions and population

ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT
The following are the environmental impact of greenhouse gas emissions in Yukon

 Melting of Arctic sea ice. This has wide-ranging implications for the Arctic and the globe,
comprising increased coastal erosion, alterations to atmospheric circulation in distant
locations, destruction to human infrastructure and negative impacts on species that depend on
sea ice.
 Long term precipitation and temperature variations
 Poor air quality i.e increase in level of particulate matter
 Increase in snow water equivalent
 Dangerous high and low water in lakes and rivers

GOVERNMENT INTERVENTIONS

 Providing funding and programs for renewable energy projects in Yukon communities.
 Improve capacity of hydro through the Mayo B hydro facility and the adding of a third
turbine at the Aishihik hydro facility.
 Implementing the Independent Power Production Policy to enable independent, non-utility
electricity producers to sell electricity to Yukon’s public utilities through renewable energy
technologies.
 Implementing the Microgeneration Policy to enable individuals and businesses to install
electrical generating systems and sell surplus to the grid.
 Implementing the Residential Energy Incentives Program and the Commercial Energy
Incentive Program to help home and building owners advance energy performance and
decrease energy consumption, costs and emissions.
 Implementing the Good Energy Rebate Program.
 Developed a state plan to combat climate change
 Building several very high energy efficiency facilities: Tombstone Interpretive Centre,
Whitehorse Correctional Centre, Emergency Response Centre, and the new FH Collins High
School.