MARTIN COUNTY, Ky. — The sun shines bright on our old Kentucky home, and Toyota will soon play a part in producing clean energy from it.

Toyota Motors North America on Wednesday announced it has agreed to offtake electricity generated from Savion's Martin County Solar Project.

Toyota's new virtual power purchase agreement will see the company offtake 100 megawatts from the project, primarily to help reduce the company’s carbon footprint in North America, according to a news release.

The project is converting the former Martiki Coal Mine, a brownfield site in Martin County, on the border of Kentucky and West Virginia, into a new, clean solar photovoltaic energy facility. Once an active coal mine on the top of a mountain that closed in the 1990s, the Martiki site has clear access to light from the sun, making it an ideal location for reclamation and the installation of solar photovoltaic panels for electricity generation.

Construction on the project is expected to begin in mid-2023, with commercial operation expected in 2024.

“The Martin County Solar Project in Kentucky is really special as an example of how renewable energy VPPAs can bring new opportunities to former coal and energy communities and will help Toyota achieve our goal of increasing purchased renewable electricity to 45% or more of our total purchased electricity by 2025,” said David Absher, senior manager of environmental sustainability at Toyota Motor North America.

Kentucky is home to Toyota’s largest vehicle manufacturing plant in the world. Officials said the move is in-line with the company’s plans to make all its operations in North America carbon neutral by 2035.

Savion is developing the Martin County Solar Project with the support of local development partner Edelen Renewables. The overall project, once completed, is expected to be one of the largest solar energy generation facilities operating in Kentucky.