Inspired by the film "
Economics of Happiness" hosted on Friday by Transition Whitehorse, I thought I'd look at how much money we are shipping out of the Yukon from using fossil fuels. Specifically:
how much could be re-invest in the Yukon's economy if we used locally produced energy?
Based on 2009 energy usage data for the Yukon, and current fossil fuel prices, we lost:
- $30 million / year in heating oil (26 million litres were used at a current price of $1.17/L);
- $7 million / year in propane for heating (7.2 million litres were used at a current price of $0.98/L);
- $2.5 million / year in diesel to generate electricity (2.5 million litres at an assumed price of $1/L); and
- $114 million / year in vehicle fuel (87.5 million litres were used at a current price of $1.299/L).
In total, that is $154 million / year spent on fossil fuels, the majority of which was lost to the Yukon's economy.
Looking at the $37 million spent on space heating alone ($30 million in oil and $7 million in propane), this is delivered-energy equivalent to 256 GWh/yr with a weighted average price of $0.147/kWh. Surely for this price and quantity we could supply this from our locally abundant renewable resources, such as hydro, biomass (wood and/or pellets) and wind, thereby re-capturing all of this expenditure to the Yukon's economy? And it's carbon-neutral as a bonus.
Now, I'm no economist, so perhaps someone who understands these matters more can comment here, but as I see it re-capturing $37 million in leakage from the Yukon's economy is equivalent to a 2.2% increase in the Yukon's GDP. In 2009, the Yukon was
Canada's poster child for economic growth with an GDP growth of just 1.4%. What an easy GDP boost--stop sending money Outside for fossil fuels, buy Local Energy!
Any current or aspiring politicians listening for an easy win?
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