Lewis County projects are set to lose out on more than $46 million in federal funding after the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) terminated more than $1 billion in grant funds already committed to green energy and manufacturing projects in Washington state.
The DOE announced late Wednesday night that it would officially terminate more than $7 billion in funding for green energy and green manufacturing projects following a statement from the White House signaling the substantial funding cuts.
According to a statement from Gov. Bob Ferguson, the move will cut $1.1 billion earmarked for green energy projects in Washington state.
It will also pull back approximately $46 million committed to Lewis County Transit and CleanFiber Inc.
According to state officials, Lewis County Transit is set to lose out on $36,385,400 as it builds out its hydrogen fuel station and infrastructure. CleanFiber Inc. — a New York-based insulation company planning to open a 60,000-square-foot production facility in Chehalis that would support 40 full-time jobs — will lose out on $10 million.
The sudden cut was a shocker to some local backers of the projects while others voiced little concern over the cuts and suggested projects in Lewis County would move forward with or without the federal funding.
State Sen. John Braun, R-Centralia, said he was confident that valuable projects would survive the elimination of the funding. He said he supported a closer look at the investments.
“I support a responsible review of clean energy grants to ensure taxpayer dollars are used effectively and transparently,” said Braun, who is seeking to unseat Democrat U.S. Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez in Congress. “We need smart investments, strong local job creation and a strategy that strengthens our energy security while respecting taxpayers. I’m confident that well-qualified local projects will ultimately move forward.”
State Rep. Peter Abbarno, R-Chehalis, who held a shovel during the recent ceremonial groundbreaking for Lewis County Transit’s hydrogen fuel production facility, declined to comment when reached by The Chronicle, citing that the funding is a federal issue.
The Economic Alliance of Lewis County, which has partnered with CleanFiber in the past, declined a request for comment pending a statement, approval or other action from CleanFiber Inc.
Lewis County Transit also did not respond to requests for comment. The door of the office was locked when a Chronicle reporter visited on Friday morning. A call inside was left unanswered.
Lewis County Commissioner Sean Swope shared frustrations about the funding cut in a Lewis County mayors meeting Friday morning that included representatives for the Washington state Department of Transportation and both Sen. Maria Cantwell and Sen. Patty Murray, both Democrats representing Washington.
During the session, Swope asked Tanisha Harris, Southwest Washington outreach director for Cantwell, questions about the impacts of the funding cut. For example, he asked how it would impact funding for the hydrogen production facility in the Port of Chehalis and the CleanFiber Inc. facility.
Harris said her team wasn’t yet sure what the impacts would be to local projects or the surrounding community.
Lewis County Transit & Hydrogen Hub
According to a statement from Cantwell, the terminated grant funding includes approximately $36 million that was earmarked for Lewis County Transit as part of the Pacific Northwest Hydrogen Hub and associated projects.
It's unclear as of now how the change in federal funding will impact the local transit agency or any of its hydrogen programs in the future. Lewis County Transit did not respond to requests for comment both over the phone and in person at the agency’s offices in Centralia.
Lewis County Transit did break ground on its hydrogen fuel producing facility on Port of Chehalis ground in August with support from local officials. Abbarno, Centralia City Councilor Mark Westley, Chehalis Mayor Tony Ketchum and others led the ceremony.
Lewis County Transit received a last bit of funding from the State of Washington to support the facility at the end of the 2025 legislative session, just months before breaking ground on the new facility.
According to previous reporting by The Chronicle, the facility is intended to become operational by the end of the year and begin producing hydrogen fuel for six hydrogen buses recently added to the transit agency’s fleet.
Ketchum, the Chehalis mayor and member of the Lewis County Transit Board, said the cut came as a surprise, adding that he believes the funding for the hydrogen fuel facility has already been secured through other avenues such as state funding.
CleanFiber
According to a statement from Ferguson, a planned 60,000-square-foot factory set to be built by CleanFiber Inc. in Chehalis will lose the $10 million committed to the project by the federal government in October of last year.
DOE first announced the award of $10 million in grant funding for a new CleanFiber Inc. facility in Chehalis on Oct. 23, 2024. The facility was one of 14 clean manufacturing projects announced by the DOE meant to bring clean manufacturing jobs to former coal producing communities in the U.S. According to a statement from Cantwell, the facility was expected to bring a minimum of 40 jobs to the area.
The CleanFiber Inc. facility planned to produce the company’s “next-generation cellulose insulation’” to be used as an alternative insulation or attics, floors and walls for residential and commercial construction as well as retrofitting current facilities. The company is currently based in New York where it produces the product at its first facility.
At the time of the announcement last fall, the site of the new facility was still uncertain as Port of Chehalis CEO Lindsey Senter said she had not heard of the company finding a site.
Lewis County Economic Alliance Director Richard DeBolt at the time said additional details on the project would be available in the coming days.
No such updates were ever provided.
