Cuba has reached 1.42 GW of installed solar capacity across 144 photovoltaic projects and is expected to exceed 1.5 GW by the end of 2026, according to Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel.
Speaking on the radio program “Criterio Compartido” from Radio Rebelde's studios, Díaz-Canel announced that the country had installed 1,418 MW of solar capacity across 144 projects. “We expect to end the year with more than 1,500 MW,” he said while discussing the country's energy transition.
He added that more than 563 MW of additional capacity had been installed at consumption sites in the state and non-state sectors. Growth is faster in the private sector, where on-site solar generation now covers around 20% of electricity consumption, reducing demand on Cuba's National Electric System (SEN).
According to the Cuban president, renewable energy now accounts for 21.4% of the country's electricity generation. He also provided figures on the development of energy storage: 50 MW of storage capacity has been installed, and another 100 MW is scheduled to come online in October.
Solar development is also expanding into water pumping. Díaz-Canel said that 646 solar pumps had been installed for public water supplies, while more than 1,000 units had been deployed for livestock farming and irrigation. Seven provinces have also launched initiatives based on distributed generation systems and solar parks.
The government plans to deploy an additional 200 MW of solar capacity specifically for water pumping. The aim is to make pumping operations independent of the SEN in the first months of 2027, before expanding the initiative to the remaining provinces.
Renewables are also being deployed in public services. According to the figures presented by Díaz-Canel, renewable energy systems are used in 99% of polyclinics, 47% of hospitals, 89% of nursing homes and day care centers for older people, 99% of homes for pregnant women, 98% of funeral homes, 16% of homes for children without parental care and 72% of banks.
In the communications sector, 97% of radio stations have photovoltaic systems, along with 25% of Radio Cuba's repeaters and 25% of Etecsa's base stations, according to the Cuban president.
He added that Cuban banks offer financing for renewable energy installations to individuals and businesses. Cuba has also set a purchase price of 90 Cuban pesos ($0.37) per kWh for electricity fed into the SEN and has expanded tax incentives for renewable energy installations.
Cuba's progress in solar energy shows how a country with limited resources can accelerate its energy transition through a combination of centralized photovoltaic parks, distributed generation at consumption sites and targeted applications such as water pumping and public services.
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