Cuba Presses Ahead With Renewable Energy Plan Amid US Oil Blockade

Cuba's government is pressing ahead with a plan to shift toward renewable energy as a de facto US oil blockade tightens its grip on the island's economy.

In an interview with Reuters on Monday, Cuba's Minister of Energy and Mines, Vicente de la O Levy, said the blockade had forced Cuba to look for domestic alternatives to imported fuel.

"We are looking for our own alternatives, using our own resources — sunlight, wind, tides, fuel, Cuban crude and gas extracted from our own wells," de la O Levy said.

According to the minister, 144 solar farms with a combined capacity of about 1,418 megawatts have been installed on the island in recent years. China is the largest supplier of solar panels to Cuba, and shipments have increased since the blockade began in early January.

At that time, US President Donald Trump suspended all oil shipments from Venezuela, a close ally of the Cuban government. Later that month, Trump also announced steep tariffs on any country exporting oil to Cuba, citing the island's government as a "national security" threat.

Since then, only a single tanker from Russia has docked in Havana. The United States has stepped up oil shipments to Cuba's private sector, but largely continues to ban fuel exports to state-run industries on the Communist Party-led island.

The state-managed power grid, widely considered outdated, relies heavily on fossil fuels. According to the International Energy Agency, only 40 percent of Cuba's electricity comes from domestic oil production. As of 2023, only 9 percent of the country's energy consumption was met by renewable sources.

In the Reuters interview, de la O Levy acknowledged the country faces major difficulties. The blockade has caused shortages of medicine, water and fuel, pushing Cuba to the brink of a humanitarian crisis.

"We are surviving and moving forward little by little, though not at the pace we would like," he said. "We face long power cuts and a lack of fuel for cooking and transport. We lack fuel, but we are gradually making progress thanks to our own solutions and thanks to our people."

He added that Cuba's domestic crude oil output remains stable, but almost all of it is allocated to power plants.

The United Nations and human rights organizations have criticized the oil blockade as a violation of international law. Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez Parrilla also condemned the blockade in a speech at the UN General Assembly last month.

"This is an unusual and unprecedented act," Rodriguez said of the blockade. "A superpower unilaterally deprives all countries of the right to export goods of their choosing to the country of their choosing."

The United States has maintained an economic embargo against Cuba for more than 60 years, dating back to the Cold War. But since returning to power, Trump has sought to tighten the screws on Cuba's economy further as part of a "maximum pressure" campaign. His administration has shown a desire to topple the Cuban government.

On October 7, US authorities announced the seizure of 90 biodiesel fuel shipments worth more than $2.8 million that were reportedly destined for Cuba. US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) said in a statement that "these shipments were part of a scheme to illegally export fuel to Cuba, in violation of federal export laws."

However, in the Reuters interview, de la O Levy denied any Cuban government involvement in the shipments. "No Cuban state company could secure a fuel contract, whether in small or large quantities," he said.

He also said any oil shipments the US sends to private companies remain far too small compared with the country's needs. "I would dare say the amount of fuel entering this country does not even meet 3 percent of fuel demand," de la O Levy said.