Hydro Facilities

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Yukon Energy has three hydro plants – one at Whitehorse on the Yukon River, one located at Aishihik Lake, and one in Mayo in the central Yukon. Together, the facilities have the ability to generate 75 megawatts (75 million watts) of power. That’s more than enough to currently serve all our customers.

Whitehorse Rapids Plant

The Whitehorse Rapids generating facility was built in 1958 at a cost of $7.2 million. It began with two hydro turbines, and in 1969 a third one was added. A fourth turbine was installed in 1985 (referred to as the Fourth Wheel) which doubled the capacity of the plant. Our Whitehorse hydro facility can now produce 40 megawatts of power. That's enough to light up one million 40 watt lightbulbs! In winter, the water in the Yukon River doesn't flow as fast, so the plant can only produce about 25 megawatts during those months.

A number of features are incorporated into the plant to help Yukon River fish by-pass the dam. In July and August, Chinook salmon travel more than 3,000 kilometres from the Bering Sea to reach their birth streams in the southern Yukon, where they spawn. Yukon Energy's Fishway, which was built at the same time as the dam, allows them to continue this journey. Hundreds of visitors come each year to see this facility, which is the longest wooden fish ladder in the world. The fishway's interpretive centre has underwater viewing windows that allow the public to see the fish close up.

Aishihik Hydro Facility

The Aishihik hydro plant has been operating since 1975. It was built to serve the growing electrical demands of Whitehorse and of a large lead-zinc mine at Faro in the central Yukon.The plant can produce 30 megawatts of power.

An interesting fact about this facility is that it is located 110 metres underground! In fact it is the first underground power plant north of the 60th parallel in the western world.

It's also the only hydroelectric facility in the Yukon that can store energy in the summer when demand is low, to be used in the winter when demand is high. It can also store energy during wet years, to be used in dry years when the levels of the lake water are lower.

Mayo Hydro

The Mayo hydro facility has served people in that central Yukon community since 1951. It was originally developed to supply electricity to the United Keno Hill Mine at Elsa, located about 45 kilometres north of Mayo. It also supplies electricity to the communities of Mayo and Keno City and neighbouring areas.

The Keno mine closed down in 1989, leaving a surplus of hydro power in Mayo. To make use of this extra power, Yukon Energy built a transmission line from Mayo to Dawson City, some 232-kilometres away. This was the largest capital project every undertaken by the Corporation.

When the line was completed in 2003, Yukon Energy was able to meet all of Dawson City's electricity demands with hydro instead of diesel. By replacing the diesel with clean hydro power, Yukon Energy will reduce greenhouse gas emission by 10,000 tonnes each year.

The new power line also provides reliable electricity to residences and businesses along the transmission route.