Madrid/The US and China are fighting another small battle in Cuba: photovoltaics. Although the Asian giant is an incomparable exporter both globally and specifically to the Island, a combination of proximity, liberalization of measures and the urgent need of Cubans have turned the northern neighbor into a rising supplier.
According to data from the US-Cuba Economic and Trade Council (US-Cuba Trade), compiled by the economic portal Bloomberg, so far this year the country has exported solar cells and modules worth 6.3 million dollars to the Island, 1,070% more than the 500,000 dollars the previous year. In addition, it represents more than 185 times the total for the year 2024.
“It is somewhat ironic that Cuba could become an important renewable energy export market for American companies,” John Kavulich, president of Cuba Trade, told Bloomberg. “Especially given the White House’s unfavorable stance on renewable energy.”
“It is somewhat ironic that Cuba could become an important renewable energy export market for American companies”
The media specifically tells the case of La Campana, an events venue located in the municipality of La Lisa that has invested $10,000 in becoming independent not only from the national electrical system, but also from the noisy generator that they used for 15 years and for which it was increasingly complicated – and expensive – to find fuel.
A relative of the resident owner was the one who sent him, through the CubaMax shipping agency, the 5 kilowatt-hour lithium batteries he needed, previously purchased on Amazon. As Bloomberg tells it, while the Island suffered its seventh national blackout this year, last September, the guests were still partying under the lights of La Campana and they didn’t even know what had happened until they left there.
China is, by far, Cuba’s main supplier of solar energy. In 2025 alone, Beijing sent photovoltaic equipment to the Island for 117 million dollars compared to only 5 million in 2023. At the beginning of 2024, the Cuban regime announced the construction until 2028 of 92 solar parks through contracts with two Chinese companies. Of that total, there have already been more than 50.
To this we must add the 10,000 kits delivered directly by the Government communist in two batches of 5,000, which have been installed in medical centers, isolated areas and places serving vulnerable populations. Besides, in 2025 the Cuban authorities They talked about a donation with which another 22 120 MW photovoltaic parks could be built, of which there are already seven with the initial endowment to begin construction.
In this way, China, which is the largest exporter of this technology worldwide – it is responsible for almost 80%, compared to 1% for the United States – has become the main contributor to the change in the energy matrix on the Island, selling to the State, which also sells them on a retail basis. through Copextel to individuals or private businesses.
Bloomberg points out that, compared to the growth in sales from the United States, imports from China have slowed down. For this, it is based on the exports that were closed at the end of July, when the sales value had been 19.5 million dollars, little compared to the aforementioned 117 million dollars in 2025. Although there is half a year left to add, the decrease is notable, 83% – the agency compares, of course, an entire year with seven months -, according to the note.
The US represents a very lower figure if one takes into account that China has exported solar equipment for three times the value, but another factor to take into account is the recipient. While Beijing is a state-level supplier, kits for individuals and private businesses arrive from US ports.
While Beijing is a supplier at the state level, kits for individuals and private businesses arrive from US ports
In 2021the Government of the Island authorized tariff-free imports for Cubans, a measure that was expanded mid-2025 for companies, since then exempt from paying not only customs fees, but also airport fees, all in an attempt to expand renewables in a context of extreme energy crisis. This 2026, the situation has worsened with the end of Venezuelan oil deliveries and the US blockade on crude oil shipments to Cuba from any country.
In August, the authorities also published a resolution that authorized the private sector to generate and market the electrical energy obtained in this way, allowing it to sell the surplus to the State.
No solution has been sufficient to alleviate the serious national energy crisis, among other things because the weakness of thermoelectric plants prevents robust compensation for the oscillations typical of renewables. Furthermore, the lack of batteries that allow the electricity generated during daylight hours to be stored leaves solar parks ineffective in the middle of the night, during peak hours.
“Solar energy is a good investment as long as it is done intelligently, something that—unfortunately—they are not doing at the moment,” said Jorge Piñón, a researcher at the University of Texas Energy Institute, for Bloomberg.
“The reason why Cuba has not stopped, collapsed or paralyzed is because the economy has been reduced almost to the same extent as the volume of fuel it imported,” Kavulich emphasizes.
