Cuba is facing one of its worst energy crises in decades, with rolling blackouts spreading across the country and officials warning that fuel supplies have nearly collapsed. But amid the worsening crisis, China is emerging as a key partner helping Cuba rapidly expand solar energy infrastructure despite years of US sanctions, economic pressure, and even a ‘friendly takeover’ of the island nation.
On Wednesday, May 13 Cuban Energy and Mines Minister Vicente de la O Levy issued a stark warning about the country’s deteriorating power situation, implying that they have run out of diesel and fuel oil.
“We have absolutely no fuel (oil), and absolutely no diesel,” the energy minister, Vicente de la O Levy, said on state media, adding that the national grid was in a “critical” state, reported news agency Reuters. Admitting that they have “no reserves.”
The minister said a Russian oil donation sent in late March had already been exhausted, leaving the national grid dependent almost entirely on domestic crude oil, natural gas, and renewable energy.
Across Havana, blackouts have intensified dramatically, with some neighborhoods going without electricity for up to 20-22 hours a day, the minister reportedly said, noted the news agency.
Even as Cuba struggles with severe fuel shortages, a large-scale ‘solar revolution' backed by China, who is also Cuba's second-largest trading partner after Venezuela, has been expanding across the island, reported CNN. Imports of Chinese-made solar panels and batteries have surged over the past year, while Chinese investment has helped Cuba build dozens of new solar parks, the news outlet reported, citing data from energy think tank Ember.
China’s exports of solar panels to Cuba jumped sharply from about $3 million in 2023 to $117 million in 2025. Cuba and China are also working together on an ambitious nationwide renewable energy project aimed at building 92 solar farms by 2028.
Once completed, the project is expected to generate around 2 gigawatts of electricity, enough to power nearly 1.5 million households, the report stated.
Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel personally inaugurated the country’s first major solar farm in February last year, and roughly 50 solar sites are now operational spread across the country.
The country installed nearly 1 gigawatt of new solar capacity in just the past year. The share of renewables in Cuba’s energy mix has risen from around 3% in 2024 to roughly 10% today. The government hopes to increase that figure to at least 24% by 2030.
Cuba’s energy troubles have deep historical roots. For decades, the island depended heavily on imported oil and faced recurring economic instability linked to long-standing US sanctions. After the collapse of the Soviet Union in the 1990s, Cuba lost a critical economic partner and later turned to Venezuela for oil supplies.
Under a unique arrangement, Cuba sent medical professionals to Venezuela in exchange for fuel shipments. But earlier this year, after the Trump administration captured Venezuela’s president, it stopped oil exports, which made the situation worse for the Miguel Díaz-Canel-led communist country. Imports from other suppliers, including Mexico, also reportedly declined after the US threatened additional tariffs.
In March alone, Cuba experienced three nationwide blackouts, affecting nearly all of its roughly 10 million residents. The CNN report stated the gravity of the situation “trash piled up in the streets, hospital surgeries were limited and people burned wood to cook.”
Experts divided over whether solar can rescue Cuba
Some analysts believe the crisis could ultimately accelerate Cuba’s transition away from fossil fuels. More renewable energy would reduce the country’s dependence on imported oil and weaken the impact of external pressure.
Kevin Cashman, an economist with the Transition Security Project, a US-UK research organization, told CNN that renewables could help “remove this lever of coercion.”
However, many experts caution that solar power alone cannot immediately solve Cuba’s deep infrastructure and economic problems. Despite rapid investment, the country’s aging power grid remains unstable, reducing the efficiency of newly installed renewable systems.
Energy Minister Vicente de la O Levy acknowledged that in the recent announcement, although Cuba added around 1,300 megawatts of solar power over the past two years, much of that capacity is still being lost because of grid instability caused by fuel shortages.
CNN also cited Ricardo Torres, a Cuban economist at American University in Washington, DC, who warned that a clean energy transformation still requires significant financial resources, saying a clean energy revolution may "sound nice on paper, but you’ve got to have the resources."
Source Name : Economic Times