Two high penetration hybrid solar photovoltaic diesel power stations will be built in Marble Bar and Nullagine. The technology uses the sun to cut down the amount of diesel used to power the stations by up to 40 per cent.

The solar energy sources will generate more than one gigwatt hour of power a year, which will supply more than 60 per cent of the daytime load for the two towns, which have a combined population of about 300.

The panels, formed in arrays, will track the sun throughout the day, and are expected to capture 30 per cent more sun than conventional systems.

About 1000 of the panels will be installed in Marble Bar, with the rest in Nullagine. Construction is expected to start in March and the hybrid stations will be the first such power generation in the world.

They will be run by Horizon Energy, whose managing director Rod Hayes said the project would set a "new standard" in large-scale renewable energy technology in Australia.

WA Sustainable Energy Association chief executive Ray Wills said he welcomed the project, and much of the state could be powered on renewable energy.

"We simply need to roll out projects to take advantage of it," Dr Wills said.