Featured in Mountains to climb – 05-2026

Cuba tackles crisis with solar

Cuba is going through one of the most severe energy crises in its recent history, with prolonged blackouts and a partial collapse of the electricity system. This situation is the result of structural factors accumulated over decades and an adverse geopolitical context. Solar is emerging as the central pillar of the government’s strategy to stabilize the electricity system and reduce energy vulnerability, as Luis Ini reports.
A street in Havana with old American style cars.
Cuba’s historic auto fleet won’t be electrified anytime soon, but the government has stepped up support for renewables deployment as it faces down an energy crisis. | Image: Pedro Szekely/FlickrCC

Cuba remains heavily reliant on fossil fuels. Even in recent years, up to 87% of the energy consumed on Cuba depended on crude oil. This dependence is not only technical, but structural. Cuba lacks sufficient domestic resources and its electricity system was designed around thermal power plants. For decades, this dependence was mitigated by geopolitical …

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