As Eastern Kentucky moves away from the coal economy, the region has an opportunity to help the country make the clean energy transition.

And Martin County, Kentucky's largest solar project, is about to break ground on top of a reclaimed coal mine.

Our Kacey Parker Bell spoke to two of the groups involved with the project about what it means to bring a new form of energy to Eastern Kentucky's economy.

We're living through a moment in history where economic forces are colliding with governmental incentives, and the result is, is that we're going to reimagine the economy.

And we can do that in such a way that includes bringing opportunity.

The forgotten places of America.

In a place where miners, once an earth to the materials, power, America's growth and new opportunities is emerging an opportunity to power the next generation in a new way.

The industrial development of this country was powered by communities like Martin County and the coal miners that live there, and they sacrificed their lives, their bodies, their communities to make sure this country had the fuel it needed to expand into the industrial global behemoth that we are in paying back that debt, I think, is an obligation that the rest of the country owes these communities.

The Martin County Solar Project will sit on a former coal mine, the 2500 acre project will create up to 200 megawatts of electricity, one complete enough energy to power about 33,000 homes.

The first phase of the project will supply half the total power output, which will be purchased by Toyota.

So our goal is to is to completely displace all of the power we're using with clean energy.

Dave Afshar hails from eastern Kentucky and spent time working as a coal miner.

Now he works for Toyota manufacturing and is excited to bring new opportunities to places like where he used to work.

Being from eastern Kentucky, again, having a legacy of, you know, I was a coal miner when I was a very young man for a while.

And seeing that economy, which what you might call the carbon fuels economy decline.

You know, we're very well aware of that.

And we certainly think that it's it's a responsible approach to to look at these communities that have been affected by the decline and the carbon economy and support where we can to have them join with the clean energy economy.

Savion, a solar developer working on the Martin County Project, is scheduled to break ground later this year and have the facility running by 2024.

When complete, the Martin County project will be the largest solar farm in the Commonwealth.

And it will produce more power than all of Kentucky's existing solar combined.

This isn't about old economy versus new.

This is about gravity and it's about planning for it.

And it's about understanding that we have a compelling, historic and unique opportunity in our own history to carve out a place in the emerging economy for our people.

For Kentucky Edition, I'm K.C.

Parker.

Belle.

Adam Edlund.

Edlund Renewables Founder.

Tell Katie to keep an eye out.

He says additional announcements about new solar projects in Kentucky are coming this summer.