March2017-Flipbook

Solar panels installed at a Cuban farmstead
day last year, prompting the Cienfuegos refinery to close.
Given this new reality, the government has accelerated investments
in renewable energy. Its goal: to produce 24 percent of
Cuba’s electricity from “clean” sources by 2030. To this end, the
government has included $3 billion worth of renewable energy
projects in its investment portfolio. Together, these would add
2.1 gigawatts of capacity from wind, solar, biogas, and biomass
plants.
Unión Eléctrica alone plans 23 renewable energy projects;
the most important are in wind energy and solar parks. The government
recently contracted Spain’s Gamesa to build seven wind
farms in eastern Cuba with total generating power of 750 MW.
That’s in addition to Cuba’s four existing wind parks: two in
Gibara (Holguín province, in the east); one in Turiguanó (Ciego
de Avila province, in central Cuba) and one at Los Canarreos
(on Isla de la Juventud, in the west).
Solar energy is another government priority. In Cuba, solar
radiation averages about 5 kWh per square meter per day (1,825
kWh per square meter per year)—much higher than in European
countries that rely on solar energy.
According to Cuban experts, 100 square kilometers of networked
photovoltaic systems could generate 15,000 GWh/year
of electricity—an amount now generated by conventional fuels.
Other studies suggest that the solar radiation Cuba receives in
one day is equivalent to the oil Cuba consumes in five years.
Cuba’s strategy is to have solar provide 400 MW of power
by 2020. The country currently has 21 solar generating plants
connected to the national grid; together they generate 34.8
MW. Another 2.4 MW plant is in the process of synchronization,
and eight more facilities with a combined generating
capacity of 15 MW are under construction.
Recently, the Abu Dhabi Development Fund (ADFD)
loaned Cuba $15 million under favorable terms to develop four
10-MW solar power plants using photovoltaic silicon panels.
The plants are slated for the provinces of Matanzas, Santa Clara,
Camagüey and Sancti Spíritus.
CONCLUSIONS
Of the three investment areas under the jurisdiction of the Ministry
of Energy and Mines, the most attractive are clearly oil and
gas production, and electricity generated from renewables.
For these sectors to expand, however, foreign investment
is essential. To facilitate that, the Cuban government will
allow investments in the energy sector to be 100 percent foreign-owned—a
development that would have been unthinkable
20 years ago.
Regarding oil and gas, projects related to secondary
extraction methods are especially attractive. Similarly lucrative
are facilities that use co-produced gas to generate electricity,
given their low production costs and high efficiency in power
generation. With respect to renewable energy, solar seems to be
the most promising, given the high levels of solar radiation that
blanket Cuba uniformly and throughout the year. H
Emilio Morales is CEO of the Havana Consulting Group.
MARCH 2017
CUBATRADE
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