MIAMI, United States.- In the midst of an energy crisis that gives Cubans no respite from the blackouts, the regime in Havana is negotiating with a Turkish company to double the megawatts it currently produces for the country from power generators. board on the high seas, reported this Wednesday the news agency Reuters.
According to the report, citing two people with knowledge of the discussions, Cuban officials are in talks with Karpowership, one of the world’s largest operators of floating power plants and part of Turkey-based Karadeniz Holding. sources said.
The company already has five ships operating off Cuba with a capacity of around 250 megawatts (MW), however the communist government needs to generate more than 3,000 MW to meet minimum demand and currently produces between 2,000 MW and 2,500 MW.
The Reuters agency requested comment from the National Electric Union of Cuba, but received no response, and Karadeniz declined to comment.
The sources, who asked not to be identified because of the sensitivity of the negotiations, said the talks focused on how to secure Cuba’s lease payments.
“The (US trade) embargo makes Western financial transactions very difficult and Cuba is short on cash and behind on payments with many vendors and joint venture partners,” a source explained.
According to experts, the Turkish company would need to increase its fleet off Cuba to produce the amount of energy required.
These motor ships, chartered by the host country, carry their own generator powered by oil or gas, anchor close to land and are connected to the local power grid.
If finalized, the deal would provide quick relief to the country as blackouts have spread across the island and increased in duration, in some places to 12 hours.
Cuban power plants are obsolete, averaging 35 years old, with a backup system of hundreds of smaller generators at least 15 years old, and only 5% of the power comes from alternative energy sources.
Last week, the Minister of Energy and Mining, Liván Arronte Cruz, said that the country hoped to almost eliminate blackouts by the end of the year, in part by adding “531 megawatts to generation capacity through new investments”, a figure reduced to 450 MW by President Miguel Díaz-Canel over the weekend.
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