Some experts say that Cuba’s large-scale blackouts (which left 10 million people
without power this month) may not have happened had the government built more solar
energy to boost its failing electric grid as promised. In a nation with plentiful sunshine,
Cuban officials have long had the opportunity to encourage solar power as one solution
to national energy problems. Cuban officials blame the blackouts on the U.S. trade
embargo and other sanctions, the pandemic’s effect on tourism, and emigration all
inhibiting Cuba’s economy. The share of Cuba’s electricity 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. That’s a small change during a time
when solar and wind have ramped up sharply globally and costs have come down.
https://apnews.com/article/cuba-solar-power-blackouts-climate-outages-renewables-15fc4a422c798800c0f07a2c48dd5fff
