Cuba Is Pulling Off One Of The Fastest Solar Revolutions On The Planet

Cuba, a small island nation of about 10 million people that has long struggled with an aging power grid and unreliable electricity, is now in the middle of one of the fastest solar energy transitions ever recorded anywhere on the planet, and the numbers behind it are genuinely startling. According to data from the energy think tank Ember, China exported roughly $3 million worth of solar panels to Cuba in 2023, a figure that rocketed to $117 million in 2025 as Beijing backed a major clean energy push across the island. Cuba has now built around 50 solar parks in just the past 12 months, adding approximately 1 gigawatt of solar capacity in a single year, enough to make a meaningful difference in the electricity supply of a country Cuba's size. Renewable energy now makes up roughly 10 percent of Cuba's total electricity generation, up from just 3 percent in 2024, with the country pledging to reach at least 24 percent by 2030.

A major agreement between Cuba and China calls for 92 solar parks to be operational by 2028, with a combined capacity of 2 gigawatts that would be enough to power more than 1.5 million homes. For Cubans already benefiting from the transition, the impact is immediate and tangible: the country's first solar-powered charging station in Santa Clara lets residents charge phones, power banks, and electric bikes, and thousands of solar systems have been installed at hospitals, clinics, and homes for the elderly to keep essential services running around the clock. Experts say the broader significance of what is happening in Cuba extends well beyond the island, because it demonstrates that rapid, large-scale solar deployment is possible even in a country with a tiny economy and severe resource constraints. One economist who studies the region said that no matter what happens in Cuba, this is a clear signal to other countries that renewables are something they need to focus on, because the technology is fast, the costs have fallen dramatically, and the benefits of energy independence are impossible to ignore.

Source:https://www.cnn.com/2026/05/13/climate/cuba-solar-us-oil-blockade-trump-china