Havana/Vietnam has donated four photovoltaic solar parks with a total capacity of 80 megawatts (MW) to Cuba, in the midst of its serious energy crisis due to the frequent breakdowns of its obsolete thermoelectric plants and the lack of foreign currency to import fuel.
The facilities will be located in different locations in the province of Mayabaque and of the total 80 MW, about 10 MW will be accumulated through storage systems that will allow energy to cover demand peaks or supply moments of lower production, according to the subsidiary of the state company Unión Eléctrica cited in local radio stations.
The announcement of the donation is made in the context of the visit of a senior leader of the Communist Party of Vietnam, one of Cuba’s key political allies, which thus joins other countries that, such as China, have donated components and several photovoltaic parks in recent months.
Precisely, the Asian giant donated, two weeks ago, a total of 5,000 photovoltaic equipment for homes in rural and isolated areas, without access to the national electrical system (SEN). This donation came in the midst of recovery efforts from Hurricane Melissa, which, although minor, did cause damage to some solar installations. The Camilo Cienfuegos park, in Río Cauto, in Granma, for example, was completely flooded and took almost two weeks to resynchronize with the SEN.
At the beginning of November, the Island received a donation from the Asian country consisting of water purifiers, blankets, tents and mats and other goods
For those affected by the cyclone, Japan announced this Wednesday that it will send shipments of food worth one million dollars to the island. The aid will be provided through the UN World Food Program (WFP), said the Japanese diplomatic legation in Havana. This is Tokyo’s second aid package for Cuba.
At the beginning of November, the Island received a donation from the Asian country consisting of water purifiers, blankets, tents and mats and other goods.
On that occasion, Japanese ambassador Nakamura Kazuhito noted that “the donation consists of goods for emergency assistance,” according to the state-run Cuban News Agency.
In a statement published this Wednesday, the Japanese legation reported that “taking into account the humanitarian perspective and the close ties between Japan and Cuba, the Government of Japan offers this emergency aid in support of the Cuban people affected by this natural disaster.”
Melissa made landfall in Cuba on October 29 in the southeast of the country and left seven hours later in the northeast, accompanied by winds of up to 200 kilometers per hour and rains that left up to 400 millimeters (or liters per square meter) in some points.
The hurricane caused massive electricity outages (a good portion of the eastern part of the country is still in the dark); total and partial collapses of homes and infrastructure; road closures; widespread communications problems; severe flooding and considerable losses in agriculture.
The United Nations assured EFE last week that the magnitude of the catastrophe is “enormous” and that, despite the efforts, the authorities are “overwhelmed” with the needs of the more than 3.5 million victims.
The resident coordinator of the United Nations in Cuba, Francisco Pichón, explained that the first assessments underestimated the extent of the devastation and that more than 90,000 homes were affected or destroyed, and about 100,000 hectares of crops were damaged.
