Centralia Coal Transition Board awards grant to support electric vehicle training program
Centralia, (March 5, 2026) The Centralia Coal Transition Grants Energy Technology Board is pleased to announce it has approved a grant award to New Market Skills Center Foundation in the amount of $5,000.00 to support the electric vehicle training program. The grant funds will be used to purchase an electric car which will be the basis for the training program for electric vehicles. The balance of the funds required for the vehicle will be provided by the organization and the Charities Aid Foundation of America through Enterprise/Taylor Charitable Entities. This additional funding will support milestones and deliverables in connection with the project.
New Market Skills Center opened in 1986 as an educational venture between local school districts and is a public school offering technical training for high school students. New Market is a consortium of 12 districts including Adna, Centralia, Napavine, North Thurston, Oakville, Olympia, Rainier, Rochester, Shelton, Tenino, Tumwater, and Yelm. The vision is to prepare students for post-secondary education, apprenticeships, or entrance into the workforce by offering the opportunity to be trained in technical career areas too expensive for a single district to fund. Students are transported to New Market from their home high schools. They spend half their day at the sending school and half at the skills center.
The Energy Technology Board was formed as a result of the 2011 Agreement between TransAlta and the state of Washington. This agreement allowed for the Centralia plant to move away from coal-fired operations with one unit retiring in December 2020 and the second unit in December 2025. TransAlta is investing $55 million into Lewis and South Thurston counties and the state of Washington through the Coal Transition Boards.
About Centralia Coal Transition Funding Boards
Overview of the Centralia Coal Transition Funding Boards:
Weatherization Board ($10M): established to fund energy efficiency and weatherization for the residents, employees, business, non-profit organizations and local governments within Lewis County and South Thurston County; up to $1 million shall be allocated to fund residential energy efficiency and weatherization measures for low-income and moderate-income residents of Lewis County and South Thurston County;
Economic & Community Development Board ($20M): established to fund education, retraining, economic development, and community enhancement; at least $5M shall be allocated to fund education, retraining and economic development specifically targeting the needs of workers displaced from the Centralia facility;
Energy Technology Board ($25M): established to fund energy technologies with the potential to create environmental benefits to the state of Washington.