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The Minister of Energy and Mines, Vicente de la O Levy, announced this Wednesday in the Round Table that Cuba now has the material resources for four energy storage battery sites of 50 MW each, with a total capacity of 200 MW, and that as soon as the first one comes into operation, the national electrical system will be able to exceed 900 MW of daytime solar photovoltaic generation.
The announcement comes amid a severe energy crisis: although Cuba has 1,334 MW of installed solar photovoltaic capacity, according to the official newspaper Granma, in practice it only generates around 500 MW, well below the previous historic record of 900 MW.
"When we have the first battery installation, which is 50 megawatts, we will release the parks and return to values much higher than what we have today, and I dare say even above 900, because we have continued the investment process."
The minister also pointed out that we have expedited the shipping of the resources for the batteries as part of the efforts made to accelerate the recovery of the electrical system.
This occurs in a context where Cuba requires eight fuel ships per month to meet its basic energy needs, and where the Russian tanker Anatoly Kolodkin unloaded 100,000 tons of crude oil on the island as part of the recent energy supply.
The head of the department also stated that, if the U.S. embargo did not exist, "the reduction of blackouts would have been extraordinary", while describing the damage that this embargo has caused to the country's energy life as "brutal."
The statement was made during an appearance in which the official reviewed the status of the National Electroenergy System (SEN), the refinement of Russian fuel, and the energy transition strategy, at a time of relative but fragile relief for the island.
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