WHITEHORSE—The Yukon government is providing the Yukon Transportation Museum with $10,000 to support an electric vehicle feasibility study as part of its ongoing exploration of past, present and future transportation networks.
“We are proud to support innovation in Yukon’s energy and transportation sectors,” Minister of Energy, Mines and Resources Scott Kent said. “The Yukon Transportation Museum’s study is a natural extension of the leadership it already provides in highlighting Yukon’s complex transportation history and current needs.”
The Yukon Transportation Museum plans to operate and monitor the use of an electric vehicle, which will be charged by solar panels on the museum’s roof. The intent is to better understand whether electric vehicles are an effective transportation mode for the North.
“We are pleased to be part of new research and offer living examples of change and sustainability. It’s generally thought that electric vehicles may not work well in northern Canada, but we intend to test that assumption,” Yukon Transportation Museum executive director Janna Powell said. “The story of Yukon transportation isn’t just an old story you visit in a museum; transportation is a human necessity and the North is particularly vulnerable to fluctuations within long distance supply networks and widely dispersed peoples.”
Partners collaborating on this project include the Department of Highways and Public Works, Yukon Energy Corporation and Yukon College’s Cold Climate Innovation Centre. The funding provided by the Yukon government will contribute to initial planning and development. The Yukon Transportation Museum will begin the two-year study later this year.
The study is being launched in association with the museum’s commemorative activities for the 75th anniversary of the Alaska Highway, as well as Canada's 150th birthday, both taking place in 2017.
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Contact:
Dan Macdonald
Cabinet Communications
867-393-6470
dan.macdonald@gov.yk.ca
Brigitte Parker
Communications, Energy, Mines and Resources
867-667-3183
brigitte.parker@gov.yk.ca
Janna Powell
Executive director, Yukon Transportation Museum
867-668-4792
janna@goytm.ca
