“I welcome TransAlta to Olympia and thank the company for helping make Washington a leader in transitioning to cleaner energy,” Gregoire told about 50 people at the gathering. Her comments about cleaner energy were in reference to a decision reached earlier this year between TransAlta and the state to phase out its coal-fired plant in Centralia by 2025. The company is exploring options to replace it with a natural-gas-fired generation plant.
“We are leading the nation in moving from the age of coal to the age of clean energy,” Gregoire said.
The new headquarters are on the third floor of the Market Place Building at 724 Columbia St. N.W., a building that overlooks the Port of Olympia’s public plaza and the marine terminal. TransAlta signed a three-year lease for the 4,000-square-foot office that was previously occupied by Thurston First Bank, said Nicole Potebnya, managing broker for The Rants Group, an Olympia real estate company.
The Rants Group, in addition to being a tenant in the same building, is the property manager for the building, she said. Although the ribbon-cutting was Wednesday, TransAlta moved into the office Aug. 15.
For now, about 10 TransAlta employees will work in the office, including Paul Taylor, president of TransAlta USA. Taylor said the company previously oversaw its U.S. operations from its international headquarters in Calgary.
Benefits of an Olympia office: its location between two large population centers (Seattle and Portland); it will allow TransAlta to build on its relationship with the state, and it offers convenience to the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport for trips to California, Taylor said.
TransAlta operates in Washington, Oregon and California, including power operations in geothermal, hydroelectric, natural gas and wind, he said.
TransAlta employs 550 in the U.S., about half of whom are in Centralia, Taylor said.
“The Northwest is an important place to be in the power business,” he said.
Also in attendance Wednesday were House Republican Leader Richard DeBolt – he also works for TransAlta USA as its director of external relations – Olympia Mayor Doug Mah, Lewis County official Bill Lotto and Dawn Farrell, the incoming chief executive for TransAlta. She starts in January, executive assistant Sherie Kenepah said.
Rolf Boone: 360-754-5403 rboone@theolympian.com www.theolympian.com/bizblog
