Cuba experiments with renewable energy

[Judi Lynn]

Cuba experiments with renewable energy
Raphael John-Lall
Published: 19 May 2010
Raphael John-Lall

There are many lessons Caribbean countries can learn from Cuba about the use of renewable energy resources.

The year 2006 dawned as the Year of the Energy Revolution in Cuba. This is a major state initiative to save and rationalise the use of energy resources, to install efficient new power generators, experiment with renewable energy and replace old durable goods—refrigerators, televisions and cookers—with new energy-saving equipment. Ten million energy-saving light bulbs and more than six million electric rice cookers and pressure cookers were distributed free of charge.

The aim was to raise the island’s capacity for electricity generation and save the government millions of pesos formerly spent on subsidised fuel. In agriculture, organic fertilisers and pesticides, crop-rotation techniques and organic urban gardens were developed. Tractors were replaced with human and animal labour. Dr Juan Llanes, lecturer, Department of Economic Development, University of Havana, told the Guardian this last Thursday at a forum entitled, Promoting Energy Efficiency, held by the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) sub-regional headquarters for the Caribbean at its office at Chancery Lane, Port-of-Spain.

“I share the opinion with other colleagues here at this conference that we cannot see energy efficiency in an academic or technocratic way. “We need a huge broad concept of energy efficiency that includes also consumption patterns and culture of the people,” he said. Cuba is exploring many options. “We are also promoting a programme of renewable energy exploring what technology is best suited to be in Cuba and, this is a programme that would take a long time, but we have started with wind energy.

Llanes said the Caribbean needs to explore all options for renewable energy. “We need a programme of energy efficiency that meets the needs of Caribbean region. We have many examples from bigger countries, like Europe, but we need to explore how we can improve our energy efficiency in the Caribbean region,” he said.

http://guardian.co.tt/business/business/2010/05/19/cuba-experiments-renewable-energy
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[Peace Patriot]

1. I can't believe that anyone would UN-recommend this post. But someone did.

My recommendation combined with someone's UN-recommendation netter at "0" recommend for the post.

How could anybody be so stupid and petty? Cuba's energy programs are a matter of vital interest to us all--both for studying their experiments (I'm particularly interested in their conversion to organic agriculture), for developing prototypes and full programs here and for solving the great crisis that we all face, of our dependence on fossil fuels. Why would someone NOT want people to read about this, to the point of UN-recommending it? This "tea-bagger" mentality is incomprehensible to me.

[flamingdem]

2. Interesting, especially now, I hope scientists in the USA and Cuba get to work

together on the oil spill and renewables.

WIN WIN!

[protocol rv]

3. I can just see it, human labor for agriculture

I bet they already patented a Cuban tied to a plow, pulling it along as if it were the middle ages. And it's indeed renewable. All they got to do is figure out how to grow enough food so they can stop importing it. Then they grow some yuca, corn, and beans, and feed it to the Cuban, who generates energy and starts pulling the plow. This is a great idea.