The project is being coordinated by Environmentally Concerned Citizens of Orange in partnership with Energy Democracy, an organisation which helps set up community solar panel across Australia and New Zealand.

The plan for phase one is up to create a facility which can produce five megawatts of solar power a day, plus 10 megawatt hours of storage.

That storage would power nearly 600 homes for around 24 hours, based on average energy usage.

In a statement released by Energy Democracy ahead of this week's meeting, it said each 2.5kW panel generates half the average household's energy usage.

The project will be owned by up to 2,000 members of a local cooperative, but it can get up and running with as few as 100 people taking part, with potential to include up to 10,000 residents.

The collective ownership would provide property owners and renters with south-facing roofs or heritage-listed properties who are unable to build solar panels a chance to get into the renewable energy market.

People involved in the cooperative would then be able to draw on power from the battery at the plant, seeing what Energy Democracy managing director Alan Major called a direct reduction in their electricity bill.

"If you imagine the changes from a landline phone in the 1990s to a mobile telephone today, that's how big of a change is about to happen in the electricity sector," he said.

Mr Major said Orange was a great place for solar power, with a core group of "motivated people" passionate about renewable energy - like ECCO - essential, with the Central West a good location for solar energy creation due to weather conditions.

He also said Orange had a low percentage of properties with solar panels on their roofs - only 15 per cent compared to the national average of over 20 per cent - indicating there was potential for people to be involved with a co-op.

ECCO's Neil Jones threw his support behind the concept and recommended those hoping to find out more about it should head to a public meeting on Wednesday night.

"ECCO welcomes renewable energy projects. A project like this will be good for jobs and growth in the region," Mr Jones said.

The meeting will begin at 7.30pm at the Environmental Learning Facility at Orange Showground.