Five Saskatchewan communities were given more than $1.2 million to phase out coal and bring in renewable alternatives.

The money comes by way of the federal government's Canada Coal Transition Initiative (CCTI).

The Southeast Regional College in Estevan, for example, will receive $188,000 to establish a solar installation training program and install a permanent and mobile solar training laboratory.

We spoke with Larry Heggs with the college.

"The projects been in the works for quite some time actually we have been working on it for about two and a half years, with design and of course RFP's and what have you and then we had to submit to the Western Canada development funding program."

"We should be starting in a couple of weeks, we hope to be up and running with the external solar part of it so the part that's actually going to feed to the college. We hope to have it up and running by the end of September, middle of October kind of thing."

Heggs says that to be able to train solar installation experts in Saskatchewan will be a big positive for the province.

"Well, I think the program itself is fantastic in that we have the opportunity to train solar installation experts really, virtually in the province of Saskatchewan so that's gonna be huge."

Heggs finished by adding that everyone has been great to work with and is looking forward to its completion.