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Cuba has Solved its Energy Crisis Without Sacrificing its Environment
Contributed by macdonald on Mon, 2007-07-09 23:18.
In sections:
Cuba has solved its energy crisis without sacrificing its
environment
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/07/04/news/CB-GEN-Cuba-E...
The Associated Press
Wednesday, July 4, 2007
HAVANA: Cuba has solved crippling energy shortages that plagued the
island as recently as 2004 without sacrificing a long-term commitment
to promoting environmentally friendly fuels, the head of the U.N.
Environment Program said Wednesday.
The electric grid still relies too heavily on wasteful gas-flare
reactors and heavy polluting diesel generators, but the communist
government has taken important steps toward developing wind and solar
power, as well as ethanol from sugar cane, said Achim Steiner, the
program's executive director.
"Cuba a few years ago was facing a real energy crisis, 16 hours of ...
electricity cuts and therefore a realization that the economy was
going to collapse under this system," said Steiner, in Havana for a
conference on the environment and development.
"In terms of a short term response, it is quite remarkable how Cuba,
under its economic conditions, managed to solve that crisis," he said.
At a news conference, Steiner said "Cuba can look proudly at having
solved a short-term crisis with a long-term commitment toward cleaner
energy." He said his organization wanted to "put a spotlight on Cuba's
efforts."
Just three years ago, the country was hit by blackouts that wounded
the economy while enraging a population suffering through the
merciless summer months without air conditioning, fans or any way to
refrigerate food.
The government's response was a sweeping "energy revolution" that
included an overall of the antiquated electrical grid, as well
conservation drives.
Fidel Castro appeared on television nearly daily to explain
improvements in excruciating detail and government workers went door
to door in many neighborhoods, replacing incandescent light bulbs with
more-efficient alternatives.
Steiner praised the energy revolution, but noted that things were far
from ideal. A gas reactor throws a plume of dark smoke over Havana's
otherwise idyllic bay and most vehicles here use leaded gasoline and
diesel that fill the air with pollutants.
Meanwhile, Cuba's economy has recovered well after the 1991 collapse
of the Soviet Union cost Havana billions in generous subsidies. But
that recovery has largely been fueled by oil-rich Venezuela, whose
socialist president, Hugo Chavez, provides the island with oil at
favorable prices.
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Cuba
Looking at the cuban history under the communist regimes, this country has been able to solve too many other crisises, including the medicine problem, the electricity one as mentioned above, the milk shortage...
Go Cuba
energy for cuba's rural areas
the coolest thing i saw on a recent trip to cuba regarding energy was this house in the country that had solar panels on the roof.
we were having lunch at this house when we noticed the battery cluster in the living room. we found out it was used to store power generated by the solar panels provided by the government. the panels provided electricity for everything in the house. it appears they do this when running electrical lines to remote areas such as this house in countryside of pinar del rio province would be more expensive than the solar option. i don't know for sure but it seems that every cuban family has the right to electricity.
there have been many government sponsored programs to make sure that people in the countryside have access to services similar to those available in the cities. this has helped to keep the population of the country from migrating to havana and allowed rural farming to continue and thrive during the reorganizing of the economy since the special period.
cuba did have large billboards talking about the program to convert to fluorescent bulbs and i don't recall seeing a single incandescent bulb the whole time we were there.
there is still much debate however as to the overall benifit of the new bulbs. while they will generally save the end user on their electricity bill, the amount of energy used in the life of the bulbs is higher than conventional bulbs due to higher energy consumption during production.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compact_fluorescent_lamp
in terms of blackouts, we didn't experience any (except for one planned one while they were trimming trees in the area) for the first 8 weeks. after that, it was getting hotter (at the beginning of july) and we started experiencing minor blackouts every few days. the worst was at one point after a rain storm when it sounded like a transformer exploded close by and we lost power for a few hours.
the sad part of cuba's energy story is that regardless of the steps being taken, there is such a transportation shortage in the country, that old "classic cars" (US cars from the 50's) rule the country spewing black smoke in all directions. this can seen as a direct result of the US blockade. perhaps the US should have these emissions deducted from any carbon credits they might earn elsewhere. oh but wait, they already poo-poo'd kyoto and don't seem to have any interest in cleaning up the planet if it means they can't continue to drive SUV's and tanks where ever they please.
viva la revolución...