A new door was opened when in November 2019 the Ministry of Energy and Mines (MINEM) unveiled Decree Law No. 345 on the Development of Renewable Resources and Efficient Energy Use. Through it, individuals and legal entities could acquire equipment that uses Renewable Energy Sources (RES), such as solar water heaters and solar photovoltaic systems; access bank credits for that purpose; as well as sell any surplus energy produced to the national grid.
Since then, several Cuban enterprises in different sectors have begun the use of RES. Among the most widespread modalities on a domestic and industrial scale, with very favorable results, have been wind energy and biogas, mainly for agricultural activities.
Several investigations by Cuban professionals led to the creation of a Cuban hybrid reactor, patented a little more than two decades ago. Its inventor is Félix Hermida García, professor at the José Martí Pérez University of Sancti Spíritus (UNISS) and a chemist and agronomist.
Another of the innovative examples in this regard was the responsibility of Alexander López Savran, also from Sancti Spíritus. In 2017, this engineer won a contest with the creation of a biogas supply system in rural communities.
It uses livestock waste as a renewable source of energy, which makes it possible to obtain greater efficiency and distribute the gas up to five kilometers away, without using blowers or compressors, an innovation that has improved the lives of more than 500 people in a hundred homes.
That is why the MIT Technology Review – the oldest technology magazine in the world – owned by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the United States, included him on the select list of the most outstanding innovators under 35 years of age in Latin America in its Spanish edition.
In early 2021, Estudio 50, a multicultural space specializing in audiovisual production and services, became the first of its kind to have a hybrid wind and solar energy installation. According to Luis Mario Gell, its founder and director, they have already developed small projects entirely using green energy. The enterprise, located in Havana, has been characterized since its creation by its contributions to local development.
It is no longer only the island’s institutions that work and promote the use of renewable energy. Beyond the investment programs that include the installation of bioelectric plants, solar photovoltaic technology, wind farms and small hydroelectric plants, Cuban entrepreneurs also recognize the importance of these efforts. Investment that will not only allow energy independence, but also import substitution, a matter of vital importance for Cuba’s economy.
