Havana wants to use solar energy to power air conditioners

Cuba's electricity supply is still highly dependent on oil imports from neighboring Venezuela. But, like most Caribbean nations, Cuba has immense potential for energy generation from renewable alternatives, including solar energy, which can be utilized to meet domestic and small business needs.

The government has built a manufacturing plant that has produced 14,000 photovoltaic solar panels, also near Cienfuegos. Currently, the Granma Province has the largest percentage of renewable energy generation within Cuba at about 37% in 2013.

By 2030, the country aims to generate more than a third of its electricity from solar parks and other renewable sources. Cuba on Friday unveiled a new solar energy park in the capital Havana, part of an ambitious project to alleviate the communist island's increasingly desperate struggle with power blackouts.

The loan should partly help finance four 10 MW solar power plants. Beyond that, the Cuban government has a long way to go if it is to build the planned 700 MW of solar capacity and secure the $3.5 billion that are necessary to fund its vision of a countrywide energy transformation.

For solar energy to have a long-term impact on Cuba's energy demand and production, projects must expand beyond off-grid usage. The focus should shift toward urban applications of solar systems and the further development of solar-powered domestic appliances.

Although solar energy projects have thus far been limited to remote areas, capacity has increased considerably in recent years. In 2013 Cuba's first solar farm opened in Cantarrana, near Cienfuegos, with a capacity of 2.6 MWp.