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A Cuban identified as Yunier Batista Gonzalez shared on Facebook images of his residential solar panel installation protected with a chicken wire fence in Holguín, which he humorously named the "Anti-riot and meteorite system or mistakes from dropping stones from space."
The photographs, taken from an upper floor, show the photovoltaic panels mounted on a galvanized metal structure apparently in a common area of a residential zone, likely consisting of multifamily buildings, covered by a metal mesh that serves as a physical shield against potential damage or theft.
The humorous title of the publication subtly alludes both to the social unrest that Cuba has experienced in recent years and to accidental physical impacts resulting from vandalism, as the author himself explains with the phrase “mistakes made when throwing stones from space.”
The artisanal solution reflects a genuine and growing concern among Cubans who have invested in solar energy: protecting high-value equipment against the rise in thefts, which has been documented in both state and residential installations.
In May 2026, an attempted robbery was thwarted at the Las Nereidas Solar Park in Ciego de Ávila, where two intruders tried to dismantle modules in the early hours of May 20.
Following the incident, the plant strengthened its measures with cold welding, coordinated nighttime patrols with the police, and reinforced the perimeter fencing.
This type of theft is not exclusive to state facilities.
In March 2026, Cubans were already sharing methods to protect residential solar panels from theft, including welded metal structures and fence reinforcement.
A worker at a solar park in Santiago de Cuba was sentenced to five years in prison for stealing metal structures from the facility.
The context driving these homemade solutions is the worst energy crisis that Cuba has experienced in recent years. In May 2026, projected deficits of up to 1,985 MW were recorded, along with outages lasting between 12 and 20 hours daily in wide areas of the country.
As a response, the regime has accelerated the installation of photovoltaic solar parks —with financing and equipment from China— reaching 49 parks connected to the grid with between 900 and 1,000 MW installed by March 2026, compared to 34 parks at the end of 2025.
At the same time, many Cubans have privately acquired solar panels to alleviate power outages, turning these devices into high-value assets that require protection.
The metal mesh over solar panels is the latest expression of Cuban popular ingenuity in response to the crisis, a well-documented trend that includes fans made from recycled batteries, stoves made from almond leaves, and other homemade inventions to survive power outages.
The regime's official plan aims for 92 solar parks and 2,000 MW of installed capacity by 2028, a goal that does not alleviate the immediate reality for millions of Cubans who, in the meantime, protect what little they have with chicken wire.
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