More Questions About Waste to Energy | Tuesday, October 5, 2010
We're happy to know that there is public interest in our Waste to Energy research. Here are questions from another blogger:
If Waste to Energy were implemented, would the garbage pick-up system be affected, or would it all happen after it's gone to the landfill? How will the garbage be sorted?
These are great questions which we are in the process of exploring. One thing we do know is that we want people to continue recycling. Whether that means carrying on with the recycling regime that exists now, building a new sorting and recycling centre as part of the waste to energy plant, or settling on some other method is still to be determined. You can be sure we'll be talking about this with recycling and conservation groups, the City of Whitehorse, and the public. We'll let you know as soon as we've made some decisions regarding this potential project.
» 0 Comments » Topics: Ask Janet
Is it True that Yukon Energy is Looking at Using Waste to Produce Electricity? | Monday, October 4, 2010
You are correct. Yukon Energy is studying technology that takes ordinary household garbage and, through a high temperature gasification process, turns it into clean electricity. A bonus is that the waste heat created through this process can be used to warm buildings.
We think there’s enough garbage in Whitehorse and the surrounding area to produce up to two megawatts of electricity year round.
While this has been used in other countries such as Scotland with good success, it’s new technology for the Canadian North. That’s why we are carefully doing our homework before making a decision about whether this is a good fit for Yukoners. For instance, we need to make sure there is enough waste. We want to be 100 percent certain that all harmful emissions are removed to air emission/control standards. We need to know that if this system is put in place, there will still be a strong emphasis on recycling and waste diversion. We also need to find a logical spot for the waste-to-energy plant where nearby homes or businesses can benefit from the valuable steam and waste heat byproducts.
If everything looks good, we could be turning waste into electricity within two to three years. Watch this blog for updates in the days ahead.
» 2 Comments » Topics: Ask Janet
Why You Should Care About Next Week’s Utilities Board Hearing | Friday, October 1, 2010
We want to remind you that Yukon Energy and Yukon Electrical Company Ltd. will appear before the Yukon Utilities Board next week. This is a public process and anyone is welcome to attend. Three days have been set aside for the hearing: Tuesday October 5th to Thursday October 7th. It's being held at Yukon College in Whitehorse in Room C1440 starting at 9 a.m. each day.
The purpose of the hearing is to allow the Utilities Board to review what is known as a Phase II application. To understand what that is and why it might be important to you, we encourage you to read a blog entry we posted here this past spring.
» 0 Comments » Topics: Regulatory