Renewable Energy In Cuba

This concise guide provides the first complete overview of renewable energy technologies in Cuba and their current capabilities and prospects. Coverage includes generation and storage systems, renewable energy installations (hydropower, solar PV, wind, biomass, ocean, and solar thermal), electrical grid history and characteristics, and an analysis of Cuba’s electrical energy resiliency.

Approaching an uncertain future without Fidel Castro, and still reeling from a downturn at the end of the cold war, Cuba must act decisively to improve its economy and living conditions. One of the major challenges facing the impoverished island nation is securing access to energy resources that are sufficient to meet the needs of its revitalization and development goals. What steps can Cuba take to achieve both short- and long-term energy sustainability and self-sufficiency? In this timely analysis, Jonathan Benjamin-Alvarado and his colleagues answer that question. Cuba's Energy Future sets the geostrategic context within which Cuba is operating. The book provides an overview of the evolving relations among Caribbean states and explains why Cuba and its longtime nemesis the United States should look for ways to cooperate on developing energy resources. The possible role of oil companies is explored, as is Cuba's energy relationship with Hugo Chavez's Venezuela. The second section of Cuba's Energy Future features economic and technical appraisals, economic projections, and trends affecting Cuba's energy needs, including oil and natural gas potential, the country's antiquated electric power sector, and the role of biofuels such as sugarcane ethanol. The concluding section focuses on the conditions necessary for, and the mutual benefits of, greater cooperative engagement with the United States. Contributors: Juan A. B. Belt (Chemonics International, formerly USAID), Jonathan Benjamin-Alvarado (University of Nebraska–Omaha and University of Georgia), Amy Myers Jaffe (Rice University), Jorge R. Piñón (Florida International University), Ronald Soligo (Rice University).

When other nations are forced to rethink their agricultural and food security strategies in light of the post-peak oil debate, they only have one living example to draw from: that of Cuba in the 1990s. Based on the first and - up till now - only systematic and empirical study to come out of Cuba on this topic, this book examines how the nation successfully headed off its own food crisis after the dissolution of the Soviet Bloc in the early 1990s. The author identifies the policies and practices required for such an achievement under conditions of petroleum-scarcity and in doing so, challenges the mainstream globalized and privatized food systems and food security strategies being driven through in both industrialized and more vulnerable developing regions. Paradoxically, the book dispels the myth that Cuba turned to organic farming nationwide, a myth founded on the success of Cuba's urban organic production systems which visitors to the country are most commonly exposed to. In rural regions, where the author had unique access, industrialized high-input and integrated agriculture is aspired to for the majority of domestic production, despite the ongoing fluctuations in availability of agrochemicals and fuel. By identifying the challenges faced by Cuban institutions and individuals in de-industrializing their food and farming systems, this book provides crucial learning material for the current fledgling attempts at developing energy descent plans and at mainstreaming more organic food systems in industrialized nations. It also informs international policy on sustainable agriculture and food security for less-industrialized countries.

Energy is one of the main determinants of economic growth, but the high dependence of electricity production by fossil fuels could be a brake for the development of countries which do not have a sufficient level of richness and/or which possess a high level of environmental sensitivity. Countries tend to contrast these limits to growth using a higher percentage of renewable sources for electricity generation, though the technological limits still suffer. Renewable energy sources are appreciated worldwide for their ability to limit significantly the impact of anthropic activities on energy production and counter the gradual appreciation of the raw materials used in the process of traditional generation based on gas and/or oil power plants. Moreover, renewable generation can encourage off-grid generation in the underdeveloped countries. The attention to environmental issues has led several countries to ratify international agreements such as the Kyoto Protocol, Durban Protocol and, more recently, the Paris Agreement; these mandates pledge to reduce emissions of pollutants and to increase the share of energy produced through the use of renewable sources, but the results obtained so far are not encouraging. The relevance of the renewable energy generation and the increase in the investments in a newly installed capacity lead many scholars to investigate the relationship between economic growth and the key factors of the investments in RES. With this volume, the authors want to explore and analyze the causes and consequences of fragmentation and discussing policy responses on promoting renewable energy generation by shedding light on the policies proposed to promote the renewable generation and enhance energy efficiency, their effectiveness in reducing environmental degradation and the promotion of decarbonization, and discussing how developing countries do and should continue to invest in green generation.

Textbook on the science and methods behind a global transition to 100% clean, renewable energy for science, engineering, and social science students.

Provides the first scholarly and comprehensive book on the national renewable energy laws of every country that has them (113 countries).

In the pursuit of socialism, Cuba became Latin America’s most oil-dependent economy. When the Soviet Union collapsed, the country lost 86 percent of its crude oil supplies, resulting in a severe energy crisis. In the face of this shock, Cuba started to develop a low-carbon economy based on economic and social reform rather than high-tech innovation. The Low-Carbon Contradiction examines this period of rapid low-carbon energy transition, which many have described as a “Cuban miracle” or even a real-life case of successful “degrowth.” Working with original research from inside households, workplaces, universities, and government offices, Gustav Cederlöf retells the history of the Cuban Revolution as one of profound environmental and infrastructural change. In doing so, he opens up new questions about energy transitions, their politics, and the conditions of a socially just low-carbon future. The Cuban experience shows how a society can transform itself while rapidly cutting carbon emissions in the search for sustainability.

Non-Conventional Energy in North America: Current and Future Perspectives for Electricity Generation provides an analysis of the current state of non-conventional energy sources used in the United States and Canada. The book works through all non-conventional renewable energy power sources, such as solar, wind and nuclear, considers the associated pros and cons, their impact on society, the climate and the population, and their potential. As well as coverage on the amount of power generated from each source, this book considers various imposed policies and programs alongside public opinion to provide readers with an understanding of current and future potentials for sustainable energy. Readers in government, energy experts, economists, academics and scientists will find this book to be a great reference on which types of power generation they would like to develop in their regions to promote economic and social development. The book will equip readers with the knowledge to make future decisions to diversity the energy mix in their respective regions. Includes information on the different types of non-conventional energy sources in the USA and Canada, analyzing their impact on climate and the population Presents the pros and cons of each power generation technology, along with public opinion Features policy and programs currently in force in the USA and Canada on each type of non-conventional energy source