Cuba solar park construction reaches halfway point

Construction of the 2.2MW El Pino solar facility in Cienfuegos province, Cuba, has reached the halfway point and the plant is scheduled to become operational in December, state newspaper Granma reported.

The project, which has been under construction since March, will have 8,800 PV panels. The estimated cost is 6.54mn Cuban pesos (US$246,792), Granma said.

Construction and final assembly of the park is being carried out by the ministry of construction with support being provided by government renewable energy and architectural entities, Granma quoted Jesús Rey Pérez Crespo, director of Cienfuegos' electric power company, as saying.

The park, being built in Rodas municipality, is scheduled to enter operations on December 2, increasing the province's total solar generation capacity to 11.2MW. It will feed directly into the national electric system.

The province is also powered by the Cantarranas, Cruces and Palmira solar parks. Cantarranas, Cuba's first solar facility, came online in 2013.

Pérez Cres­po said local authorities aim to increase Cienfuegos' generating capacity to 50MW by 2030.