Guantánamo hosted this week the first business meeting on renewable energy sources in the province, an event that brought together about 20 state-owned companies, micro, small, and medium enterprises (mipymes), cooperatives, and self-employed workers seeking solutions to the collapse of the National Electric System (SEN).
According to a report from the official Canal Caribe, the meeting sponsored by the Provincial Government Council marks a milestone in the advancement of the private sector as a provider of photovoltaic technology on the island.
Joel Pérez García, the first secretary of the Communist Party in the eastern territory, opened the event with a clear message: "The country has two major priorities at this time, one is the energy transition and the other is food production, so being here is responding to one of these national priorities."
The meeting also included representatives from Villa Clara, who shared experiences about eight megawatts of solar energy installed in 141 state entities and 208 private actors since 2025.
A representative from the scientific and technological park of that province emphasized that "what we have explained about the experience of Villa Clara is not limited to just one province; it can be utilized in any province of the country, and even more so in Guantánamo, which has all the potential."
Among the proposals that emerged from the meeting are the establishment of a community service and charging center, and the opening of a retail store to sell affordable rechargeable products to the public.
On April 4th, they inaugurated in the Virginia popular council, in the city of Santa Clara, the first "solinera" in the province of Villa Clara, an energy service station that operates independently of the SEN and provides residents with a space to cook and charge their devices.
Guantánamo aims to attract at least 31 state-owned enterprises and private actors to the use of renewable energy by 2026, in a context where blackouts have reached over 22 hours a day in several areas and the national generation deficit has exceeded 2,000 megawatts.
The increasing prominence of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in this sector is supported by a package of incentives approved by the regime. Since February, Resolution 41/2026 of the Ministry of Finance and Prices exempts the import of solar panels, batteries, and inverters from customs duties, and offers up to eight years of tax exemption for those who invest in renewable energy systems.
Decree 107 goes further and enables small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to act as generators and sell renewable energy directly to the Electric Union (UNE) or other entities, beyond self-consumption.
However, access to technology remains deeply unequal. A photovoltaic module of 800 watts promoted by the UNE costs more than 75,000 Cuban pesos, equivalent to over 20 monthly salaries of a state worker, while in the informal market a panel can exceed 1,000 dollars.
The crisis driving this transformation is the most severe in decades and worsened following the suspension of Venezuelan crude oil shipments since January 2026 and the cut in Mexican oil exports under pressure from sanctions by the Trump administration.
Only in March 2026 were there two total collapses of the SEN. In this regard, decentralized responses have emerged such as tricycles with solar panels in Havana and power outlets enabled in a solar park in Isla de la Juventud.
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