Cuba's slow solar energy expansion contributes to widespread blackouts

Cuba’s recent large-scale blackouts highlight the country’s failure to expand its solar power infrastructure, despite its commitments under the Paris Agreement and ongoing energy shortages.

Alexa St. John, Ingrid Lobet, and Andrea Rodriguez report for The Associated Press.

In short:

• October’s blackouts affected 10 million Cubans and would have been less severe with more solar energy development.
• Experts point to the Cuban government's outdated policies and reliance on fossil fuels despite international interest in solar investments.
• Cuba currently generates only 5% of its electricity from renewable sources, far below its 2030 goal of 37%.

Key quote:

“If you had extensive buildout of solar, solar farms, residential solar and storage, for the most part, you could avoid the problems they have."

— Dan Whittle, associate vice president of the resilient Caribbean practice at the Environmental Defense Fund

Why this matters:

Despite plentiful sunshine, Cuba's energy policies lag behind, prolonging reliance on fossil fuels and worsening blackouts. Building out solar power could stabilize Cuba’s grid and reduce its climate impact.