Hello comrades,

wondering what the Cuban govt. has said about their economic plans as a BRICS partner. Very little info about it online (at least in the US where I am). Could this effectively be a solution to the US blockade in the long term?

Solar parks and power to install.

Although some have already been built in the last 15 years, a total of 2012 MW in 92 parks will be completed between 2025 and 2028, built using non-reimbursable Chinese and Russian loans. It is planned that 55 of them will be in service in 2025, with around 1200 MW of power.

Each park will have around 21.8 MW of power. And of these, four will include batteries to ensure 50 MW of storage each one (total: 200 MW).

Each park will avoid the consumption of more than 8100 tons of fuel, one of the resources on which Cuba must spend the most of its foreign currency, in addition to the financial and physical persecution that the Cuban state suffers from the government of the United States of America.

Currently Cuba has more than 3000 MW of power installed between thermoelectric plants, all with more than 30 years of operation and diesel and fuel oil groups. Thermoelectric plants use oil extracted in Cuba, which is very heavy and requires frequent maintenance. Normally there are about 650 to 700 MW of these thermal plants off-line, at the moment much more in the east of the country.

The diesel and fuel oil engine groups were installed with the Energy Revolution designed by Fidel Castro. They were designed to operate only during peak hours, but the technical deficiencies of the large thermal plants have forced them to be turned on for longer hours, which has resulted in technical problems. Recently donations have been received from China to repair a group of these engines.

Since Cuba does not have large rivers, the hydroelectric energy possible to use in Cuba is minimal. Only in Lake Hanabanilla, in the mountains in the center of the island, is there hydroelectric generation of any magnitude. Parks have been designed to take advantage of wind energy, and a power plant using biomass from the sugar industry is in operation, which has dragged along technical problems.
The Cuban state has been increasing the possibility for the population to import solar energy systems, install them and sell the surplus to the state energy company.
Several Cuban private companies operate in Cuba installing solar energy systems for state and private entities.

Source (in spanishm and for the part that talks about the solar parks): https://www.granma.cu/cuba/2025-01-21/de-los-parques-solares-fotovoltaicos-en-montaje-un-boton-de-muestra-21-01-2025-01-01-49