Repeated nationwide blackouts have forced millions of Cubans into darkness for days at a stretch, cutting off water service and communications while exposing the fragility of a power grid that depends on imported oil for more than 80% of its electricity. Faced with outages that can stretch past 36 hours, ordinary households and the Cuban government alike are turning to solar energy at a pace that would have seemed unlikely just a few years ago. The shift is driven less by environmental ambition than by raw necessity, aging infrastructure, chronic fuel shortages, and tightening U.S. sanctions have left the island with few alternatives.
A Grid Built on Oil and Running on Fumes
Cuba’s electricity system is almost entirely dependent on petroleum. Oil products account for over 80% of power generation, according to the International Energy Agency, making the island acutely vulnerable to any disruption in fuel supply. That vulnerability has been on full display. A failure at the Diezmero substation near Havana triggered a massive power outage leaving millions in the dark, with the Ministry of Energy and Mines and the state utility UNE confirming a peak-hour electricity shortfall of approximately 1,380 MW.
The causes run deeper than any single equipment failure. An analysis from the University of Alabama at Birmingham categorizes the crisis into three interlocking problems: deteriorating infrastructure, fuel scarcity, and limited financial capacity to fix either one. Cuba’s thermoelectric plants were built decades ago, and many operate well below their rated output. When one large unit trips offline, the rest of the system cannot compensate, and the result is a cascading failure that can darken the entire national grid. U.S. sanctions compound the problem by restricting oil shipments and financial transactions that Cuba needs to purchase fuel and spare parts on the open market.
36 Hours in the Dark and Counting
The scale of recent outages has moved beyond inconvenience into genuine humanitarian concern. After the Diezmero substation failure, power restoration took more than 36 hours, during which communication networks went down and water pumps stopped functioning. For families that rely on electric stoves and refrigeration in tropical heat, even a single day without power means spoiled food and unsafe drinking water. These are not isolated incidents. Cuba has experienced repeated nationwide outages, each one eroding public patience and deepening the economic toll on small businesses, hospitals, and schools that cannot function without reliable electricity.
The pattern reveals a structural trap. Every blackout forces emergency fuel purchases at premium prices, draining foreign currency reserves that could otherwise fund grid repairs. Each repair is a stopgap on equipment that needs full replacement, not patching. And every month of deferred maintenance makes the next failure more likely. Provincial areas have been hit especially hard, with some communities enduring rolling cuts that leave them without power for the majority of the day. The human cost is difficult to quantify, but the political pressure it generates is unmistakable. Cubans are demanding solutions, and the government is responding with its most aggressive renewable energy plan to date.
Havana’s Solar Gamble Takes Shape
Cuba’s Energy and Mines Minister Vicente de la O Levy has outlined an ambitious buildout of 92 photovoltaic parks totaling approximately 2,000 MW, with 55 of those parks expected to come online in 2025 and a monthly commissioning schedule designed to add capacity steadily. To supply those projects, 2,714 containers of equipment were reported to be in transit to the island. The government has also moved to clear regulatory barriers. Resolution No. 169/2025, published in Gaceta No. 60, exempts more than 180 tariff headings related to renewable energy equipment from customs duties through December 31, 2027, with benefits applied retroactively to May 1, 2025.
The longer-term target is equally striking. Cuba aims for approximately 26% of its electricity to come from renewable sources by 2035, according to reporting in the UK press. Reaching that share from a baseline where renewables contribute only a sliver of total generation would require not just panel installations but also battery storage, grid upgrades, and transmission infrastructure capable of handling intermittent solar output. The government has also relied on rented floating power plants to bridge immediate shortfalls, a costly interim measure that highlights how far the grid remains from self-sufficiency. Whether the solar buildout can proceed on schedule depends on shipping logistics, financing, and the island’s ability to integrate large volumes of variable generation into a grid that already struggles with stability.
Rooftop Panels as a Household Survival Strategy
The government’s utility-scale plans tell only part of the story. Across Havana and provincial cities, Cuban households are scrambling for rooftop panels, batteries, and small inverters, often pooling savings or remittances to buy imported kits. For many families, a modest system that can power a refrigerator, a fan, and a few lights is the difference between losing a month’s worth of food and riding out a blackout with minimal damage. Residents told reporters that they see solar not as a luxury but as a survival tool in a context where grid power can vanish without warning and may not return for days.
These household systems are emerging despite, not because of, Cuba’s broader economic environment. U.S. sanctions and a deep financial crisis have constrained access to hard currency and complicated payments to foreign suppliers, while the domestic market struggles with inflation and scarcity. Yet the customs exemptions for renewable energy equipment are beginning to filter down to consumers, making legal imports more attractive than the informal gray market. In neighborhoods that have managed to install a critical mass of panels, the contrast during outages is stark: some homes stay lit and connected, while others fall back into darkness, highlighting a new layer of inequality shaped by access to solar technology.
International Partners and the Limits of a Solar Fix
Cuba is not pursuing its solar transition in isolation. Chinese firms have supplied panels and technical support for several photovoltaic projects, and officials have highlighted clean energy as a pillar of bilateral cooperation. In one recent example, Chinese media described how joint initiatives in renewable infrastructure are being framed as a response to both energy insecurity and climate pressures on the island. Such partnerships provide equipment on terms that are more favorable than commercial credit markets, where Cuba’s access is constrained by debt and geopolitical tensions.
Even with external backing, however, solar power is not a quick fix for systemic fragility. Photovoltaic parks and rooftop arrays can reduce the volume of imported fuel needed for electricity generation, but they cannot by themselves repair transmission lines, modernize antiquated thermoelectric plants, or resolve the liquidity crunch that forces the government into costly short-term decisions. Energy planners face a delicate balancing act: they must expand renewables fast enough to ease blackouts, while keeping conventional plants running safely until new capacity is fully integrated. For Cuban families living through yet another night without power, the promise of a more resilient, sun-powered grid still feels distant, but the panels appearing on fields and rooftops across the island signal that the country’s energy future is slowly, and unevenly, beginning to change.
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*This article was researched with the help of AI, with human editors creating the final content.
