Find out if you can generate wind energy on your property

We offer a wind prospecting service to help you determine whether wind speeds are high enough on your property to generate useful wind energy.

Apply to have a wind monitoring station installed

  1. Make sure you have room for the wind monitoring station.
    Our stations use a 20 metre tall tower that needs a 20 metre radius from the base to anchors in 4 directions. That’s a circle 141 feet in diameter.
  2. Contact us to book a meeting with our wind energy specialist.
    They will discuss your power needs, your site and your potential for generating wind energy based on previous wind monitoring studies.
    In person: Energy Solutions Centre at 206A Lowe Street (across from Riverside Grocery) in Whitehorse, Yukon. We are open Monday to Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
    Phone: 867-393-7063 or toll free in Yukon: 1-800-661-0408, ext. 7063.
    Email: energy@yukon.ca
  3. If you decide to proceed, we add your name to the waitlist for a monitoring station to become available.
  4. After signing an agreement with the Government of Yukon, a contractor installs the station to monitor the wind for 1 year.
  5. After 1 year of data is collected, we remove the station and provide you with a report of the wind resource and how to best harness it for your needs.

Things to consider if you are thinking about installing wind energy

Location

A wind turbine needs a minimum 141-foot clearing at the base; possibly more depending on the type of tower you choose. Don't try to save room by installing a wind turbine on the roof of your house. It could be structurally unsound and cause noise and vibration in the house.

Resource potential

If your site is on a ridge above a valley or on a point that juts out into a lake, you may have winds approaching 5 metres per second (m/s). This is the minimum yearly average necessary for meaningful energy to power your house. Most Yukoners live in valleys that are too sheltered to access higher winds. Even the Whitehorse Airport has average wind speeds well below that 5 metre per second mark.

Keep in mind that even with a yearly average wind speed of 5 m/s there will be times of the year when the wind will be lower. During those times, if you are not grid connected, you may need back up power.

Cost

10 kW systems are around $100,000, while 3 kW systems are around $26,000. These substantial costs tend to be more attractive to those who live off-grid and rely on diesel generation. It may not make as much sense for people on-grid participating in the micro-generation program who already have access to cheap renewable energy.