AGL was selected as the successful proponent in the solar PV category of the program and will receive federal and state government funding.

Under the program, GL will develop a 106MW project in Nyngan and a 53MW project in Broken Hill, both in New South Wales.

First Solar chief executive officer Jim Hughes said, "These projects demonstrate First Solar’s ability to apply its vertically integrated capabilities to deliver competitive, comprehensive, utility-scale solar solutions in future sustainable markets. We look forward to working with AGL on more projects like this in the future."

The electricity produced by the projects will be sold under power purchase agreements to AGL Hydro Partnership, a wholly owned subsidiary of AGL.

Construction is expected to begin on both projects in 2014, with commercial operation in 2015.

On completion, the project will provide power for homes 30,000 and are expected to provide approximately 350GWh of energy annually.