CAMAGUEY.- The eastern Cuban province of Camaguey will keep the expansion of the use of renewable energy sources when a new photovoltaic park, which is already being assembled in the municipality of Sierra de Cubitas will become operational, as well as the installation of another three during 2018.

The new park, located in the town of Imías, north of this city in the municipality of Minas, will be the third of its kind in the territory and will provide 2.2 megawatt / hour (mW / h) to the National Power Grid (SEN) once it is synchronized, thanks to the use of solar radiation for the generation of electricity.

As explained by Juan Carlos Lacaba, specialist of the Electric Company of Camagüey, the park will have 17,600 panels and will cost about 16 million pesos, an investment that seems expensive at the beginning, but that is quickly amortized by the high efficiency of that energy source.

In addition, it is intended to continue with the electrification of isolated homes without access to the SEN through the use of solar energy, and the placement of panels for the exclusive use of these homes, amounting to some 96,000 in the province, many of them in rural areas.

By 2025, Cuba plans that 24 percent of the electricity generated will be obtained from the renewable sources, and in order to reach a similar figure in the province, 12 areas were identified with the possibility of installing solar panel systems, whose higher contribution would be measured at the noon peak.

Data published by the nongovernmental organization (NGO) CUBASOLAR refer to the main lines in which the Caribbean country works, and the use of sunlight occupies one of the first places, because the radiation values, of the sun that Cuba receives are good when compared with European nations, for example, where that alternative has a high level of application.

For this reason it is considered as one of the greatest potentialities, although not only for electricity generation says the website of the aforementioned NGO.
Its use, in addition, allows reducing the emissions of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere and other greenhouse gases, responsible for global warming.

In the world, renewable sources gain more prominence every time, because in addition to reducing considerably the pollution of the environment caused by burning fossil fuels, they are more economically sustainable, after the initial investment in technologies.