Madrid/There is only one month left for the delivery date of the Ciego Norte Photovoltaic Park, a few kilometers from the blind of Ávila, and the problems are already glimpsed. According to a special report, published by the provincial media Invader This weekend, 200 containers with different assembly materials have not yet arrived on the island.
“Today the park is 60%, with 269 armed tables, 222 with panels and 146 certified, work carried out by 27 brigades formed by between five and eight workers,” said one of the engineers who works there. “If the seven investors of 3.25 megawatts (MW), next to the transformers, which come in containers, maritime, are not before February 15, you cannot deliver energy before March 15. We would have to make an impossible marathon and we could not stretch the days beyond 24 hours. ”
It will not be due to lack of work. The report reveals that the Chinese, investors in the titanic task of installing 92 solar parks on the island, have had to go to Cuba to cooperate in person imposing a working days worthy of forgotten times.
“At first, communication was difficult,” says Daniel, another of the employees. “When we saw the way they worked, with a very early arrival to work, well -late exit – even nine and 10 hours of work -, with rest from Just half an hour for lunch, sweat drops and that inner peace, without flinching, still working, without drinking cold water, we thought we had won the battle in the pile (praise. Forced to slaughter at the same pace and, according to the text, “together, they bury 1,000 piles”, about 18,000 in total for 40 days.
The Cubans were forced to slaughter at the same pace and, according to the text, “together, they came to bury 1,000 piles”, about 18,000 in total for 40 days
The Chinese, however, did not reach the island only to impose a rhythm of leonine work, but because – the note says – the Cuban part was already beginning to destroy the materials they had arrived. “It was necessary to bring Chinese operators when the machines of that country began to break, subject to an effort greater than the power for which it was designed, given the length of the piles to be recessed,” says the report.
The specialists consulted justify the poor management by commenting that only this solar park and the one that is built in the Yucca community, in Abraus (Cienfuegos), have this type of support. According to the journalist’s description, there are about 44,000 sunk piles two meters underground in these 30 hectares that were not conducive to cultivation and they ended up clearing to house the enclave, which must contribute almost 22 MW of energy to the country.
According to the calculations, this power would allow, in summer, the province can self -abuse at the peak at noon, although for this it depends on the remaining parks announced also complying with the forecasts. This 2025 must be delivered 55 of these facilities of the 92 scheduled for 2028 and will contribute 2,000 MW to the electricity generation.
The two contracts signed with Chinese companies in March 2024 They imply a radical transformation in national energy policy, which is intended to save about 750 tons of fuel imported while overcoming the announced death of thermoelectric plants that have long agonized. A forced turn in record time, despite the fact that the transition to renewables was approved and equipped with a powerful budget since 2014 without practically progress in a decade or know where the money destined for it went to stop.
The Cubans, “dragged” – literally say the report – by the Chinese, strive to advance in “the inner lighting and in the earth mesh, that is, the set of all the elements, electrical connections and devices that are part of A grounding ”, in which the delayed material arrives, from which they are pending.
“It was difficult to follow the Chinese and their machines sinking the piles on earth, it’s like sinking a borer. The Chinese with their machines and the Cubans with the green, of another. Theirs gave more. What a way of working, what resistance!
“The more they take, the more intense our work will be,” says Daniel, one of the engineers. But the will is not enough, and the delays are the dominant note
“The more they take, the more intense our work will be,” says Daniel, one of the engineers. But the will is not enough, and the delays are the dominant note without the reason for the delays. “We could have started putting the tables in November, but we did not have the resources at work,” adds the worker.
The screws have had to replace bells in the borer machines, built in Camagüey, Ciro Redondo, Villa Clara and even in China, from the prototype designed on the island.
“We finished putting the piles on December 11 and on 17 it was that the screws arrived to assemble the tables. Faced with that reality, we were forced to increase the forces. In principle we think of 15 gangs. Time gave us. Now we increase the figure. Right in the park there are more than 200 people, only in table armor, work that is not difficult, but requires skill, ”he continues.
Specialists have to verify that everything is well mounted and level before riding the panels. “In the beginning it cost us work to reach the two daily tables. We already exceed that number. It is not as easy as the panorama painted us. Work requires a lot of precision, ”explains one of them. In addition, we must certify the work done, a job that “right now is a bit slow, because the tables are a little laborious when assembling them. Yesterday two structures put together and put the panels of those two tables. With the days they will advance more and can make both daily tables, which is what is requested to finally meet the delivery program, ”they say.
All hopes are placed in these parks and if they will be able to deliver the required energy in a timely manner, in addition to having precise storage and maintenance capacity. This Sunday, in full January and with fresh temperatures, the deficit exceeded 1,100 MW, with a 3,000 MW demand and a generation of 1.966 MW.
