China to help Cuba with solar energy amid US oil blockade and total power outage

Beijing will ‘intensify its support’ to Havana after around 10.9 million people were left without power amid an ongoing energy crisis

China is offering solar energy to Cuba, an old ally left without power amid the US oil embargo, in a show of strength for Chinese renewable-energy credentials and a sign of Beijing’s economic footprint in Latin America.

Beijing’s ambassador to Cuba, Hua Xin, on Monday outlined joint energy projects in progress as part of an effort to ease a “complex power situation” in the Caribbean nation, the Cuban Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.

“China has always maintained that Latin America and the Caribbean are one big family of sovereign, independent countries and in no way can be the backyard of any country,” Hua told a news conference in Cuba, according to the ministry’s website.

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Cuban media outlet CiberCuba quoted the ambassador saying Beijing will “intensify its support to Havana” through new energy projects, with a particular focus on developing renewable sources such as solar.

US President Donald Trump pledged on Monday to “take” Cuba, an island nation of around 10.9 million people, amid a total power blackout triggered by a shutdown of the national grid and linked to an oil embargo imposed by Washington.

Donors from China have already given 5,000 “household” solar energy equipment sets for installation at three Cuban clinics and a home for the elderly, Chinese official news agency Xinhua said on Thursday.

China has also helped Cuba develop 49 new “solar parks” with more on the way by 2028, according to the International Action Centre, a US-based advocacy group. It said solar power production had grown from 5.8 per cent of total energy generation early last year to more than 20 per cent this month.

Clean energy in China generated an estimated 15.4 trillion yuan (US$2.2 million) in economic output last year after 20 years of development, according to the Helsinki-based Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air.

The Latin America and the Caribbean Academic Network on China calculated that China also invested almost US$34 billion in 70 renewable energy projects in Cuba’s part of the world from 2010 to 2024.

Some countries in Latin America, though a traditional US stronghold, have strengthened their economic ties with China over the past decade in light of Chinese investments, trade and quest for minerals. Cuba was the first Latin American country to recognise China diplomatically.

China is uniquely positioned to help Cuba with solar energy given its record elsewhere, said Alfredo Montufar-Helu, China-based managing director at Ankura Consulting.

“In terms of production capacity, China is first in the world and in terms of tech in solar, China is also leading,” he said. “Behind this are decades of investment and state support aimed at improving China’s manufacturing prowess and strengthening energy security.”

China may get a world image boost, Montufar-Helu added.

“Helping Cuba could have a particular geopolitical dividend for China by strengthening its image as a pillar of global stability in the face of US retreat from global institutions,” he said. (South China Morning Post)