{"id":8259,"date":"2026-10-12T19:04:03","date_gmt":"2026-10-12T19:04:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=8259"},"modified":"2026-10-12T19:04:03","modified_gmt":"2026-10-12T19:04:03","slug":"cuba-forges-ahead-with-renewable-energy-plans-amid-us-oil-blockade-energy-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=8259","title":{"rendered":"Cuba forges ahead with renewable energy plans amid US oil blockade | Energy News"},"content":{"rendered":"
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By <\/span>Reuters and The Associated Press<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Published On 12 Oct 2026<\/span>12 Oct 2026<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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The Cuban government is pushing ahead with its plans to transition to renewable energy, amid a de facto oil blockade from the United States that has strangled the island\u2019s economy.<\/p>\n

In an interview with the Reuters news agency on Monday, Cuban Minister of Energy and Mines Vicente de la O Levy explained that the blockade has forced Cuba to explore domestic alternatives to foreign fuel imports.<\/p>\n

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\u201cWe are seeking our own alternative solutions, using our own resources, our sun, wind, tides, fuel, Cuban crude oil and the gas produced in our wells,\u201d de la O Levy said.<\/p>\n

He said 144 solar farms with a combined capacity of about 1,418 megawatts have been installed on the island in recent years.<\/p>\n

China has been the largest supplier of solar panels to the island, and shipments have increased since the blockade began in early January.<\/p>\n

At the time, US President Donald Trump halted all oil shipments from Venezuela, a close ally of the Cuban government.<\/p>\n

Later that month, Trump also announced he would impose heavy tariffs on any country that exported oil to Cuba, justifying the threat by calling the island\u2019s government a \u201cnational security\u201d threat.<\/p>\n

Since then, only a single oil tanker from Russia has reached Havana. The US has increased its shipments of oil to Cuba\u2019s private sector, but it has largely barred fuel exports for nationalised industries on the communist-led island.<\/p>\n

The government-run electrical grid, widely considered to be antiquated, relies heavily on fossil fuels. Only 40 percent of Cuba\u2019s electricity comes from \u200c\u200c\u200c\u200cdomestic \u200c\u200c\u200c\u200coil production, according to the International Energy Agency.<\/p>\n

As of 2023, only nine percent of the country\u2019s energy consumption was covered by renewable sources.<\/p>\n

De la O Levy admitted in his interview with Reuters that the country was facing difficulties. The blockade has caused shortages of medicine, water and fuel, pushing Cuba to the brink of a humanitarian crisis.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are surviving and moving forward, little by little, even if not at the pace we would like,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe face long hours of blackouts and lack fuel for cooking and transportation. We lack fuel, but we are gradually making headway through our own solutions and our people.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cuba\u2019s production of domestic crude oil remains stable, he added, but is almost entirely allocated to power plants.<\/p>\n

\"Aris
Aris Lopez Torres, owner of the Fuego Lento restaurant, speaks with technician Josecal Duarte during the installation of solar panels on the roof of her business along Havana\u2019s waterfront [File: Lucien Migne\/Al Jazeera]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The United Nations and human rights watchdogs have criticised the oil blockade as a violation of international law.<\/p>\n

Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez Parrilla also condemned<\/a> the oil blockade in his speech at the UN General Assembly last month.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is an unusual and unprecedented action,\u201d Rodriguez said of the blockade.<\/p>\n

\u201cA superpower unilaterally deprives all states of their right to export the commodities that they wish to the country that they wish.\u201d<\/p>\n

The US has maintained an economic embargo on Cuba for more than 60 years, since the Cold War era.<\/p>\n

But since taking office for a second term as president, Trump has sought to squeeze Cuba\u2019s economy further, as part of a \u201cmaximum pressure\u201d campaign. His administration has indicated that it wants to topple Cuba\u2019s government<\/a>.<\/p>\n

On October 7, US authorities announced they had seized 90 biodiesel fuel shipments valued at over $2.8m destined for Cuba.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese shipments were part of an attempt to unlawfully export fuel to Cuba in violation of federal export laws,\u201d US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) said in a statement.<\/p>\n

But in his interview with Reuters, de la O Levy denied the Cuban government had any link to the shipments.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo Cuban state-owned company has managed to secure a fuel contract, whether for small or large quantities,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

He added that any US oil shipments to private firms fall far short of the country\u2019s requirements.<\/p>\n

\u201cI would venture to say that the amount entering the country doesn\u2019t even cover 3 percent of its fuel needs,\u201d de la O Levy said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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By Reuters and The Associated Press Published On 12 Oct 202612 Oct 2026 The Cuban government is pushing ahead with its plans to transition to renewable energy, amid a de facto oil blockade from the United States that has strangled the island\u2019s economy. In an interview with the Reuters news agency on Monday, Cuban Minister…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":8260,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":{"facebook_2277560469115098_106292521332774":"","twitter_aToxNzczMzI3Njk4OTg4ODUxMjAxOw==_1773327698988851200":""},"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_templately_pack_id":"","_templately_imported_at":"","_templately_source":"","_templately_import_session_id":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8259","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-international-news"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t