Big Solar gets bigger in India, Pakistan, Brazil, Uganda, Abu Dhabi…

It’s been a big week for Big Solar, with ambitious new utility-scale PV projects planned for Pakistan and Uganda; India calling for bids for 4GW solar farm; Brazil winding up its second round of A-3 energy auction bidding, and Abu Dhabi proposing the  development of a 500MW solar rooftop scheme.

In Pakistan, local newspaper The Nation has reported that the government has reached an agreement with Canada to develop a 500MW solar project in the Cholistan region. According to a report in PV Magazine, Punjab chief minister Muhammad Shahbaz Sharif announced the deal at a press conference, saying the plant would be developed in two phases; a 200MW scheme first, and the remaining capacity added in a second phase. Few other details were revealed, including the role of the Canadian government.

The Ugandan government, meanwhile, has signed an MoU to build – and to buy the power from – 500MW of utility-scale solar. PVTech reports that the deal with Taiwanese-US partnership Ergon Solair, will see four 125MW power plants built for the Ugandan Development Corporation. Construction on the first plant is scheduled to begin in 2014 with the full capacity to be installed by October 2016. Ergon Solair has proposed using Jinko Solar modules and is working with Portugal’s Martifer Solar on the development of the projects. Ergon Solair has also signed a 2GW agreement with the East African Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture.

In India, invitations for tenders for a 4GW mega solar project are set to be issued in “three to four months,” with joint secretary for the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE), Shri Tarun Kapoor, confirming this week that the first 1GW phase is scheduled for completion in three years. As PVTech reports, the primary goal of India’s mega solar project is to bring down the cost of solar energy to nearly INR5 ($US0.078c) per kilowatt-hour. Currently, it sits at around INR6 ($US0.094c) per kilowatt-hour for large projects in India. Kapoor also said the project would be getting “viability gap funding” of up to $US157 million under the second round of the country’s national solar program.

In Brazil, a total of 31 solar PV projects with a generation capacity of 813MW have made it to the second round of bidding under the nation’s A-3 energy auction – the first government energy tender auction in Brazil to allow solar developers to bid. PVTech reports that in September, 2.7GW of PV projects were being considered for the November auction. The 31 projects still in the running have been split into 12 projects in the Bahia region (309MW), four projects in Minas Gerias (115MW), nine in Paraiba (253MW), four projects in Piauí (91MW), and two projects in Rio Grande do Norte (45MW). Overall, 429 projects are to participate in the A-3 auction, with a total of 10.46GW.

Finally, in the Arab Emirates capital of Abu Dhabi, energy regulators have announced that they will submit a proposal to develop a 500MW solar rooftop scheme to the Emirate’s Executive Council early next year. While not strictly a utility-scaple solar project, it’s a big deal, with the purpose of outlining how residents can generate their own clean energy and sell excess power back to the grid, as well as advising on the right feed-in tariff scheme to support their plans. The UAE is aiming for 7 per cent renewable energy generation by 2020.