Three companies who deal in renewable energy say the City of Whitehorse should cut them a break on taxes.

Yukon Energy, Solvest and Chu Niikwan Development say “energy projects require an enabling and supportive structure [which] currently does not exist in Whitehorse,” according to a delegate submission read to city council on Jan. 25.

The three will make their case to Whitehorse’s city council and senior management in February.

Andrew Hall, President and CEO of Yukon Energy says the issue is how the city assesses value for taxation. 

The company says it wants the city to reconsider how it assesses and taxes green energy projects, especially given the fact that Whitehorse declared a climate change emergency in September 2019.

Yukon Energy is developing a battery storage project in Whitehorse which would cost about $30 million dollars. 

Hall says the total value of the project would be used in tax assessment. The result, by Yukon Energy’s estimate, would be a city tax bill of $297,000 per year.

“For that project, the city taxes at the current rate are quite punitive, in terms of driving the operating costs of that project,” Hall said.

Yukon Energy’s battery project is set to use large lithium batteries to store power to reduce diesel use during peak demand.

The project is now requesting proposals to buy the batteries with a tentative date of November 2022 for completion.

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