- Cuba is rapidly installing solar panels with support from China to tackle its energy crisis and reduce reliance on ageing fossil-fuel power plants.
- The government invests in solar parks as a cheaper, faster, and more decentralised renewable energy solution.
As it faces a worsening electricity crisis, Cuba is racing to complete a large solar energy project near the ruins of an unfinished Soviet-era nuclear power plant in Cienfuegos.
Workers are rapidly installing 44,000 solar panels at the “La Yuca” photovoltaic park. This time, instead of nuclear energy, the island is banking on sunlight with support from China. The goal is to complete the project by May.
Forty years ago, the Soviet Union backed a nuclear facility for Cuba. However, when the USSR collapsed, so did the project. Today, Cuba is again at an energy crossroads, in the middle of its worst economic crisis in decades.
The island relies heavily on eight ageing thermoelectric power plants, most dating back to the 1980s and 1990s. These outdated stations are prone to breakdowns. Fuel shortages have triggered daily blackouts, and the national grid has collapsed four times in just six months.
Energy and Mines Minister Vicente de la O Levy says that more than half of Cuba’s fuel is used for power generation. Most of that fuel comes from Venezuela, which is also under U.S. sanctions and now faces tightened restrictions on its oil exports.
Cuba uses floating power plants from Turkey and diesel generators to stay afloat but often lacks enough fuel for essential transport, including ambulances.
To break the cycle, the government approved 55 solar parks, five of which will rise in Cienfuegos. According to de la O Levy, solar energy is cheaper, faster to install, and easier to spread across the island.
The country wants to produce 1,200 megawatts (MW) of solar power daily by the end of this year. That’s nearly equal to its current 1,500 MW electricity shortfall. By 2025, Cuba aims for 12% of its electricity to come from renewables, growing to 37% by 2030.
However, experts like Jorge Piñon from the University of Texas warn that Cuba will struggle to maintain power during nighttime without batteries to store solar energy.
Still, for thermophysicist Eliecer Machin, who once worked on the Soviet nuclear dream, solar energy is Cuba’s best bet for now. “It’s the fastest way to get power,” he says.
With help from its “sister nation,” China, Cuba hopes this shift to solar power will finally bring light and stability to a nation long plagued by power cuts.