Whitehorse’s wind turbines are pretty much blown

Credit: Yukon Energy says its 2 turbines on Haeckel Hill have reached the end of their life | CBC News | Posted: Aug 16, 2018 | www.cbc.ca ~~

Translate: FROM English | TO English

A couple of Whitehorse landmarks will soon be gone, according to Yukon Energy.

The two wind turbines, overlooking the city from atop Haeckel Hill, will be decommissioned and the company is hoping to sell them off.

“Turbines of this generation typically only last about 20 years. So they’ve reached pretty much their end of life,” said Andrew Hall, CEO of Yukon Energy.

The first turbine was installed in 1993, and the second, larger one went up in 2000. Hall says the larger one had a mechanical problem last year, and it was never fixed.

“When we looked at the business case to repair it, based on the lifetime of the rest of the turbine, you know, the business case just wasn’t there,” Hall said.

“At this time, the plans are to decommission both of the units over time, starting with the smaller one.”

He says the smaller unit will likely come down later this summer, with the tower possibly going to another organization to use for rescue training. The larger unit may also have a buyer, Hall says, but “they would have to do, obviously, an extensive refurbishment on the unit.”

Relatively small contribution

Hall says the turbines were “pretty successful,” though they never supplied more than a small fraction of Yukon’s power – about one megawatt. That’s about one per cent of Yukon’s typical power usage in winter, according to Hall.

“Obviously a very visible contribution, but on an absolute basis, very small,” he said.

There are no immediate plans to replace the turbines, but Hall expects Yukon Energy’s proposed Standing Offer Program – which would streamline the process for small, independent power producers to sell electricity to the grid – could change that.

“I think within a couple of years, assuming that project goes ahead, folks will see probably two or three turbines up on Haeckel Hill again.”

At least one company is already hoping to install new, larger turbines on Haeckel Hill. Northern Energy Capital, in partnership with the Kwanlin Dun First Nation, has proposed building three or four new turbines at a cost of $17 million.

Yukon Energy is also monitoring wind power potential on nearby Mount Sumanik.

Source: Yukon Energy says its 2 turbines on Haeckel Hill have reached the end of their life | CBC News | Posted: Aug 16, 2018 | www.cbc.ca

This article is the work of the source indicated. Any opinions expressed in it are not necessarily those of National Wind Watch.

The copyright of this article resides with the author or publisher indicated. As part of its noncommercial educational effort to present the environmental, social, scientific, and economic issues of large-scale wind power development to a global audience seeking such information, National Wind Watch endeavors to observe “fair use” as provided for in section 107 of U.S. Copyright Law and similar “fair dealing” provisions of the copyright laws of other nations. Send requests to excerpt, general inquiries, and comments via e-mail.

Wind Watch relies entirely
on User Contributions

(via Stripe)

(via Paypal)

Share: