Twin Transit Receives Grant from TransAlta’s Energy Technology Board

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As Twin Transit prepares to include its first electric bus to its fleet, the Centralia Coal Transition Energy Technology Board has awarded a $37,810 grant for the installation of an electric charging station.

The grant is the first one to be awarded by the energy technology board, one of three boards tasked with allocating $55 million over 10 years to ease the impacts as TransAlta shifts away from coal.

The plan, according to Twin Transit General Manager Rob LaFontaine, is to house the electric charging station at the transit office. In order to do that, high-voltage electricity has to be routed to the bus storage yard at the Locust Street property.

The total cost of the installation will be about $48,000 — with Twin Transit paying for about $10,000 of the project. Travers Electric will be paid approximately $32,000 for the installation of the charging station, while another $16,000 will go to the Centralia City Light Department to bring the needed electrical capacity to the property.

LaFontaine sincerely thanked the TransAlta board for the grant.

“We are thankful that they recognize the work we are doing to improve efficiency and the environment here in our community and we’re just grateful they were supportive of our project,” he said.

Mike Gudeman, a board member of the energy technology board, said they were pleased to assist Twin Transit in updating their operation.

“Using the latest technology will benefit Twin Transit in lowering fuel costs and provide a positive impact on our environment and community,” he said. “Making a positive impact to the environment is one of our missions as a board.”

According to LaFontaine, the electric bus will save between $50 and $70 a day, depending on the current price of diesel. He also said the area Twin Transit services is a great environment for an electric bus to perform well, citing flat roads, routes with speeds of 35 miles or less, and a temperate climate, among other factors.

“If you factor all that together, it’s kind of the model environment for an electric bus,” LaFontaine said.



Twin Transit expects to tentatively receive the 100 percent electric bus by the end of February. The bus is a zero-emission vehicle that operates each day on a single electric charge to its collection of battery cells.

The total cost of the bus was $569,000. That cost included the electric charging station. Approximately $297,000 of the purchase was funded by a federal grant, with the remainder coming from local funds.

The order for the bus has already been submitted, and Twin Transit is currently waiting for it to be delivered, LaFontaine said. If all goes well, Twin Transit will likely look to add more electric buses to its fleet in the future.

“Part of the investment from TransAlta, which we are extremely grateful for is, adding the infrastructure we need here at Twin Transit to accommodate future electric bus service,” LaFontaine said.

The electric charging station will have the capacity to charge two electric buses.

The electrical service will be installed and the charging station will be fully operational with bus daily services beginning Feb. 2017, according to a press release from TransAlta.

The energy technology board was formed as a result of the 2010 agreement between TransAlta and the state of Washington to transition the Centralia plant away from coal-fired operations with one unit shutting down in December 2020, and the second unit in December 2025.

The other boards include the weatherization board and the economic and community development board. Annual payments for the funding boards have been made for the past five years with the last payment due Dec. 31, 2023. The opportunity to start funneling money into projects became effective Dec. 31, 2015.

For more information on the Centralia Coal Transition Funding boards, go online to cctgrants.com.