Cuba Defends Renewable Energy

Havana, Jun 2. -In 2010, facilities using renewable energy technologies to produce electricity in Cuba contributed 570.4 gigawatts per hour, or electricity for 13 days, according to the Ministry of Basic Industry.

This contributed to save 146,513 tons of oil, said Deputy Minister of Basic Industry Manuel Presa Sague in his lecture during the opening session of the 7th International Conference on Renewable Energy, Energy Saving and Awareness, CIER 2011, at the Havana Convention Center.

Presa said that no energy source is absolutely clean, as all of them damage the environment; however, the renewable sourcesâ�Ö impact on the environment is lower than that of fossil fuels, which have put humankind on the brink of unprecedented climate disaster.

In this regard, Cuba defends the development of so-called clean energies, for which it relies on natural resources like the sun, the wind and the sea.

Every square meter of our territory gets an amount of solar energy equivalent to half a kilogram of oil.

Before nearly 200 scientists, researchers and business people from about twelve countries, the Cuban official cited the main investments carried out by the country in the field of renewable energy in 2006-2010.

He mentioned the construction and putting into operation of three aeolian parks with a potential of 11.25 megawatts and the installation of a wind tunnel to calibrate the wind gauges in Cuba.

Projects also include a solar heater plant of vaccum tubes to produce over 30,000 units annually, which was also made operational, and 2,500 solar heaters were bought and installed, mainly in social and tourist facilities, while 100 wind gauge stations were established to study the countryâ�Ös aeolian potential.

He said the countryâ�Ös hydroenergy potential has been estimated at 848 megawatts, with a yearly average generation of over 1,900 gigawatts per hour.

This would contribute to save over 450,000 tons of fuel, compared to the energy produced by generators, which would mean avoiding the emission of 1.30 million tons of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere. (Prensa Latina)