China will provide the equipment for the new Los Cristales solar park, the new photovoltaic installation that the Cuban government is preparing in Trinidad. The space occupies 45,000 square meters and will be capable of generating 2.2 MWp (peak megawatts), barely 1.4% of the energy that the province of Sancti Spíritus needs each day.
The official press spread this Sunday the information, pointing out that the work and installation are the responsibility of the Construction and Assembly Company of the province, although the investment is assumed by the Technical and Specialized Services Company of Cienfuegos. Construction is 80% complete, he told Escambray Leonardo Campos Avella, engineer and technical director of the company.
The site includes the construction and assembly of 400 solar panels, two technological containers, a control house and a weather station, in addition to other unspecified elements and which, according to the note “have seen their progress slow down due to the energy contingency and the concentration of part of the resources in the province of Pinar del Río” after the passage of Hurricane Ian.
The note recalls that Sancti Spíritus needs 148 MW per day of which, currently, 14% come from solar energy
“In areas two and three, the structure of the 200 tables (plates) has already been completed and the first one is pending, where work is being done on the opening of the holes and the foundation; in the rest of the work, other actions must be carried out for its completion. In a second stage, the importation of the equipment, from China, is expected,” said Campos Avella.
The note recalls that Sancti Spíritus needs 148 MW per day, of which currently 14% come from solar energy. The province has seven solar parks that contribute almost 20 MW. The two largest are those located in Yaguajay, with 8.4 MW, and La Sierpe, which opened in 2016 and generates 5.5 MW. the note of Escambray affirms that the Sierpe is the largest, which contradicts information from the same medium in Januarywhich attributed the greatest capacity to Yaguajay.
In Cabaiguán and Sancti Spíritus there are also photovoltaic parks with lower capacity and more similar to the one in Trinidad, and the authorities announced this year that they intend to add Guasimal III soon, also in Sancti Spíritus. The seven already underway and these two that are about to join will be joined by others in Batey Colorado, in Yaguajay, Zaza del Medio, in Taguasco, in Jatibonico and in Trinidad itself. The latter are projects of foreign collaboration with which it is hoped to double the photovoltaic power in the province, adding 20 MW to the 20 already underway.
“It is expected that by the year 2024 this installed power from renewable energy sources will double,” said the engineer, who also places more than 2,870 tons of carbon dioxide that are not emitted into the atmosphere by producing green energy.
In 2014, Cuba made public its intention to reach 24% generation using renewable energy by 2030. However, at the beginning of this year, past the equator of the term, only 5% has been reached.
“The implementation of the FRE (Renewable Energy Sources) Policy is behind schedule; at the end of 2021 we should have 649 MW/h in operation, but today only 47% of the forecast is reached, 304 MW/h,” Rosell said. Guerra, director of Renewable Energies of the Ministry The enormous energy crisis in Cuba, whose peak occurred this summer, was seen coming. The old age of thermoelectric plants has not caught the authorities by surprise, who years ago should have foreseen how to deal with the end of the useful life of the plants. The fuel used in them – national and highly corrosive – and the lack of maintenance only accelerated a debacle that is surprising that it did not come before.
Since 2014, the authorities have invested 500 million dollars in renewables, compared to more than 1,500 million dedicated to the construction of hotels since 2020
The complexity of counteracting as much as possible the fall in thermoelectric plants and the shortage of energy generated with renewables is aggravated if, in addition, investment is conspicuous by its absence. Since 2014, the authorities have invested 500 million dollars in renewables, compared to more than 1,500 million dedicated to the construction of hotels since 2020.
Cuba, with a radiation of more than 5 kilowatts per square meter per day, has a high potential to produce solar energy and, in fact, it is the most advanced. The parks that have been able to be built contribute more than 78% of the country’s renewable energy, 238 megawatts per hour, but the amount is very insignificant for the needs of the Island.
The energy situation, in any case, has experienced a slight improvement and in the last three days there has been no deficit forecast by the Electric Union of Cuba. The company forecasts for today the generation of 2,946 MW in the time slot of greatest consumption, when the maximum demand will be 2,820 MW.
The repairs in recent weeks, organized to fulfill Miguel Díaz-Canel’s promise to alleviate the cuts in December, together with the stoppage of numerous companies due to lack of raw materials and a cooler climate, which requires less energy to air conditioning, may be among the main factors of improvement.
________________________
Collaborate with our work:
The team of 14ymedio He is committed to doing serious journalism that reflects the reality of deep Cuba. Thank you for accompanying us on this long road. We invite you to continue supporting us, but this time becoming a member of our newspaper. Together we can continue transforming journalism in Cuba.
