Cuba To Develop 59 PV Parks

• Cuba has started working on building 59 solar power plants with a total capacity of 59 MW across the country
• Around 33 such plants are estimated to be up and running by the end of 2017
• A total of 59 MW capacity is reportedly planned to become operational with the commissioning of the 33 PV plants

The Caribbean nation of Cuba is developing 59 solar photovoltaic parks, out of which 33 are estimated to be completed during 2017. These 33 facilities will be connected to the national grid in 2017.

All these power plants to come up in 2017 will have a cumulative capacity of 59 MW, as reported by Cuban News Agency.

In December 2016, President Raul Castro had stated that the country's renewable energy capacity was only 4.65% of total power generation. Cuba wants to increase its share to a total of 24% by 2030

Cuba has been primarily dependent on neighbouring Venezuela for supplying oil at a discounted rate to power the country. The government is now looking at expanding the role of renewable energy.

According to a February 2016 report on Havana Times.org, the government is looking at having 700 MW of solar power capacity installed in Cuba by 2030. It does point out that the country's focus so far has been on off-grid use of solar energy