ISLAND OF YOUTH. Starting this Friday, the quality of the electrical service in this special municipality and the use of renewable energy sources, particularly solar photovoltaics, take on a new dimension thanks to the launch of a collaboration project, the result of the work of several companies. Japanese and Cuban companies.
The initiative to improve the electricity supply in the territory consists of a system of rapid discharge lithium batteries, which makes it possible to compensate for fluctuations caused by the instability of photovoltaic generation and, thereby, contribute to the regulation of the system frequency. municipal electric.
Furthermore, this project, promoted by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) in Cuba, favors the assembly of photovoltaic parks, which will reduce the use of fossil fuels in generation, contributing to the country’s energy sovereignty and protecting the environment. environment, by reducing polluting waste from hydrocarbon generation.
The inauguration of the work was attended by the member of the Political Bureau and prime minister, Manuel Marrero Cruz; the Minister of Energy and Mines, Vicente De La O Levy; the first secretary of the Party on the Isle of Youth, the Japanese ambassador to Cuba, Hirata Kenji; the resident representative of JICA in the Greater Antilles, Ashida Tatsuya, as well as other Cuban and Japanese authorities.
In conversation with the participants in the event, Marrero Cruz thanked the Government of Japan and JICA for the donation of more than 20 million dollars for the execution of this project that, in this complex economic context and in the midst of the electro-energy situation that facing the Greater Antilles, has greater importance.
Likewise, he recognized the entire team of professionals, Cuban and Japanese engineers, the Ministry of Energy and Mines, the Electrical Union and especially the workers of the local electrical company, “direct protagonists of the work”, to whom the Chief of Government asked them to take advantage of all the experiences acquired during this time of execution.
“Know how to maintain all this equipment, all these facilities, so that they last and because we want to extend this experience to the rest of the country,” said Marrero Cruz, who recalled that the country is committed to the development of renewable sources to generate electricity and, Therefore, “today a new stage begins here to be able to have the results of this investment and generalize this experience.”
He pointed out that this “is a very important step” in the political will of the Cuban Government to transform its energy matrix, to leave behind, little by little, the dependence on fossil fuels and go to generate clean electricity, clean energies. And we will advance further to the same extent that we can have the resources.
When touring the facility, the Prime Minister was interested in the technical assistance to the different teams that provide service, the training and improvement of the human capital that works in them, as well as the salary of the workers and the stimulation of those who contribute the most.
During the event, Alfredo López Valdés, general director of the Electrical Union, highlighted that there have been years of hard joint work between the two countries to complete this complex electricity installation, which has ten MW of lithium ion batteries to 20 minutes, which is equivalent to storing three MW of energy and installing an energy management system that in its operation must carry out power balance and frequency control.
With these improvements, the electrical system on the Isle of Youth is prepared to incorporate approximately 15 MWp additional to those already existing, with which the territory would reach approximately 20% of energy production with renewable sources, López pointed out. Valdés, who said that this work constitutes an example of the continuous strengthening and excellent relations between Cuba and Japan.
This sentiment was also referred to by the Ambassador of Japan in Cuba and the resident representative of JICA, who highlighted how bilateral cooperation between both peoples has expanded and diversified in recent years. They highlighted that the Asian nation is always ready to support the advancement of the Cuban people, “who are not alone, they have many friends in the world like the Japanese people.”
When pronouncing the words of gratitude on behalf of the people of Pinar del Río, Rafael Ernesto Licea Mojena, president of the Municipal Assembly of People’s Power, recognized all the people who, with dedication, dedication and commitment, made possible the materialization of the work, of vital importance for the economic and social development of the Isle of Youth and the country.
