Should Cubans buy solar panels paired with batteries?

The minister of energy and head of the nation’s electric utility encouraged Cubans to buy rooftop solar systems paired with batteries, instead of the gas and diesel generators purchased by Cubans who can afford them.

Can solar power solve Cuba's energy problems?

In a nation with plentiful sunshine, Cuban officials have long had the opportunity to encourage solar power as one solution to national energy problems. But October’s sweeping outages — the island’s worst power failure in years — show little progress has been made.

Could more solar power boost Cuba's electric grid?

By ALEXA ST. JOHN, INGRID LOBET and ANDREA RODRIGUEZ HAVANA (AP) — Cuba’s large-scale blackouts that left 10 million people without power this month may not have happened if the government had built out more solar power to boost its failing electric grid as promised, some experts say.

What if Cuba had built out more solar power?

Cuba’s large-scale blackouts that left 10 million people without power this month wouldn’t have happened if the government had built out more solar power to boost its failing electric grid as promised, some experts say.

Is Cuba a good candidate for solar?

Besides the strong sunlight, there is another way that Cuba is a good candidate for solar. A significant share of its electricity comes from smaller power plants distributed around the country. Solar could be added or switched out in those locations. But it hasn’t happened yet.

What percentage of Cuba's electricity comes from renewable sources?

The share of Cuba’s electricity that comes from renewable sources like solar and burning sugar cane waste has increased only slightly, from 3.8% in 2012 to 5% as of 2022, according to research from the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law at Columbia Law School and EDF.