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Mount Sima funded to cut diesel reliance

Mount Sima ski hill is converting its snowmaking to electric power with more than $5 million in funding from the territorial and federal governments.
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Snow-making machines are pushed and pulled uphill at Mount Sima in 2015. The ski hill will be converting snow-making to electric power with more than $5 million in funding from the territorial and federal governments. (Joel Krahn/Yukon News file)

Mount Sima ski hill is converting its snowmaking to electric power with more than $5 million in funding from the territorial and federal governments.

“These upgrades to the electricity and snowmaking capacity will allow Mount Sima to provide more training and special events while reducing their dependency on diesel,” said John Streicker, minister of community services, in a press release issued Friday.

The Yukon government is providing $1.4 million for the upgrade, and the federal government is pledging $3.7 million.

The ski hill will improve its electrical, pumping and streamflow control measures and transition snowmaking away from diesel power. LED lighting will also be installed on the hill.

Hans Oettli, the ski hill’s general manager, told the News that snowmaking machines and the pump house will be powered by the electricity grid following the upgrades. That will cut reliance on the hill’s diesel generators.

“We reduce our carbon emissions by over 90 per cent,” Oettli said.

According to Yukon Energy, 84 per cent of electricity is generated via hydropower. Backup diesel generators are used to supplement hydro supply.

Contact Gabrielle Plonka at gabrielle.plonka@yukon-news.com