Published: 24 Feb 2021, 08:31 By: Andy Colthorpe Site selected by Yukon Energy for what is thought will be the northernmost large-scale battery system in Canada. Image: Yukon Energy. Steps forward have been taken in the development of a grid-scale battery energy storage system (BESS) in the Yukon Territory, northern Canada, which will help stabilise the region’s grid and reduce reliance on fossil fuels. Local utility Yukon Energy, which is publicly-owned, is planning the 7MW / 40MWh battery in Whitehorse, near the Alaska Highway. Yukon Energy described the project as a “critical investment” in the group’s ability to meet growing electricity demand and for responding to emergency shortfalls of power. The utility has to date been heavily dependent on burning diesel fuel as backup.