Skagway played host to about 450 cruises last season. The ships burn diesel while in port, because the small town can’t generate enough electricity to connect them to shoreside power.
But the Yukon produces a lot of renewable energy. And they have a surplus in the summer months, when cruise ships are in port.
Yukon Energy rolled out a 10-year plan for renewable electricity in the territory this January. One of its goals is to sell excess renewable energy to green up cruise ships in Alaska ports. The utility plans to expand its southern infrastructure in order to store a projected surplus of summer power.
Yukon Energy President and CEO Andrew Hall said that opens up an international clean energy possibility.
“Given that we were building or have plans to build out that transmission infrastructure, we started thinking about the business opportunity to sell more renewable energy down to Skagway and help with potentially electrifying cruise ships for the shoreside power,” he said.
It could be a win-win: The Yukon territory could turn a profit on their surplus, cruise ships could green up their local image and Skagway might enjoy better air quality near the port.
The plan is still in early stages, but Hall said his initial talks with cruise ship companies have been positive. The price of Yukon’s renewable energy will be competitive with what the cruise ships would otherwise spend on diesel.
But this plan hinges on infrastructure in remote and mountainous territory. And it doesn’t exist yet.
Hall stated the big question: “Who would pay for that?”
“You know, I don’t think Yukon Energy wants to necessarily operate transmission in the United States. So we would be looking for the local utility — you know, Alaska Power and Telephone — to potentially play a role in that,” he said.
Darren Belisle manages Skagway’s Alaska Power and Telephone Co. office. He said shoreside power is something Skagway has considered before.
“It’s not just plugging in an extension cord,” he explained. “It’s a pretty extensive process.”
He said it takes serious real estate for the transformers onshore. Belisle estimates the cost of transmission lines from Yukon to Skagway would be in the range of $100 million.
Hall said he expects to know whether or not the project is viable within the year.
