The IEA has earmarked the town as the ideal site for a one gigawatt photovoltaic power generation plant, commencing with a 10 megawatt pilot plant at a cost of $60 million.
Mid-West Development Commission spokesperson Michael Osborn said feasibility studies would commence soon into the pilot project, which also envisaged the development of a local manufacturing industry for solar-related technologies with local employment opportunities.
Osborn said the project has the potential to prevent 18 million tones of carbon dioxide entering the atmosphere over the facility's 30 year life.
Kazuhiko Kato, from the IEA task force, said the proposal would offer a significant alternative energy source to fossil fuels. The power would feed nearby towns such as Morawa, Three Springs, Mingenew and Wubin through the existing grid.
Half the funding for the pilot project would come from the federal government under the rural remote power generation program.
