In spite of the fact that since last April almost all electric energy in the Island is produced from national crude, Cuba continues to promote energy savings as one of the keys to reduce costs and increase the efficiency of the national industry. This is the purpose of the agreement between the Ministry of the Basic Industry(MINBAS) and the Swiss Agency of Cooperation with Development(COSUDE) for the modernization of the lighting technology. In its full phase, the project will cover around one hundred enterprises from all over the country.

The efforts to save energy have favoured the development of alternate sources for local solutions, and the energy produced from the renewable sources already exceeds one megawatt. Although its direct economic impact does not appear to be significant, these individual solutions allow savings in the installation costs and energy transportation to remote places. The generation of electric energy from these sources has made it possible to electrify more than 2 300 schools in remote mountainous zones and more than 350 rural medical posts in the last two years, with positive results in the improvement of the quality of life of those populations. The experience in the use of solar energy will enable Cuba to export 7 000 solar panels produced at the Ernesto Che Guevara Electronic Components plant in Pinar del Río, sole of its kind in Cuba.

In the meantime, the effort to increase efficiency in the oil production continues ahead, and in May vice president Carlos Lage Dávila inaugurated in Matanzas a steam producing plant that will contribute to improve the handling of Cuban fuel. This investment will produce annual savings more than 1 400 000 dollars, of which 120 thousand by the speeding up of coastal operations and the rest by saving of naphtha and other resources in the handling and processing of Cuban crude.

At present, Cuba produces 92% of its total energy with a mixture of crude and natural gas, and the remaining 8% from fuel oil produced by the country’s refineries.

Taken from: Cuba Foreign Trade