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The wind farm La Herradura Uno, located in the province of Las Tunas, is about to begin the installation of its wind turbines after more than a decade of delays, unfinished works, and unfulfilled promises, as reported by Cubadebate in its Facebook post.
Carlos Arias Sobrino, director of the Electric Company of Las Tunas, specified that the 22 units to be installed in this first phase will be able to generate, at their maximum capacity, 34 megawatts (MW).
That figure is lower than the original design, which included 34 wind turbines for a total capacity of 51 MW, although the executive clarified that this does not rule out the possibility of completing the entire project.
The Minister of Energy and Mines, Vicente de la O Levy, announced at the end of April that the park would be completed this year: "This year, the Herradura 1 wind farm in Las Tunas will be finished [...] we intend to start erecting the towers by the end of April," he stated according to Granma.
The project was first announced in 2012 as the largest wind farm in Cuba, located on the northern coastline of the municipality of Jesús Menéndez.
In January 2018, the EFE agency reported that the complex would start operations by the end of that year, aiming for a combined total of 101 MW between La Herradura 1 and La Herradura 2, but the deadlines were consistently not met.
In June 2024, Granma had to publish that "the works of the Herradura I wind energy project have not been halted," a statement that alone indicated that the project remained incomplete.
In January 2025, Periódico 26 reported that the civil works were "about to be completed" and that the installation of wind turbines was expected to begin that year, a promise that also went unfulfilled.
The announcement sparked a wave of mockery on social media, reflecting public frustration with the regime's chronic delays in infrastructure projects.
"More than a decade... it's about 15 years," wrote a user.
Alvaro Pereyra was more direct: "Haha, a decade standing still!!!! That's the 'revolutionary efficiency'."
Lizyani Lopez joked about "a decade waiting for the trade winds in the land of wonders," while Jose Dayron Almaguer recalled, "I’m 40 and I remember when the work started; I was just a teenager."
The delay occurs within the context of a structural electricity crisis that in 2025 reached generation deficits exceeding 2,100 MW, with blackouts lasting more than 20 hours daily in several areas of the country.
Cuba aims for 24% of its electricity to come from renewable sources by 2030, with wind power contributing 656 MW through 14 wind farms, a figure that seems increasingly distant given the pace at which La Herradura Uno is progressing.
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