Waste to Energy Workshop
Yukon Energyhas been looking into using municipal waste and dead standing wood to produce electricity and district heating.
In October 2011 we hosted a workshop that allowed Yukoners to learn more about this idea.
The feedback was very helpful as we worked to make a decision about waste-to-energy. Based on that feedback and a detailed analysis, we have determined that waste-to-energy is not a viable option for Yukon at this time.
Our study took into account the City of Whitehorse's goal of diverting 50 percent of its municipal waste from the landfill by 2015. Using that number, a waste-to-energy plant with the ability to produce two megawatts of power would have capital costs of about $40-million. The electricity produced from that plant would be very expensive; at about 31 cents a kWh, it would cost as much, if not more, than diesel.
That being said, technology is changing rapidly, and it's possible that in several years the cost of a waste-to-energy project would be substantially lower. However for now we will turn our attention to exploring other potential energy options, such as wind, hydro enhancements, biomass and liquefied natural gas.
Below in the final Waste-to-Energy Business Case report, along with the presentations given at our workshop.
- Final Waste-to-Energy Business Case Report - April 2012 (1030 KB)
- Waste to Energy Presentation - McCallum - October 2011 (703 KB)
- Biogas Presentation - Mallory - October 2011 (692 KB)
- Recycling Presentation - Cable - October 2011 (1153 KB)
- Whitehorse Waste Disposal - Tuck - October 2011 (4698 KB)
- Waste to Energy Workshop Report - Oct. 2011 (175 KB)