A US oil blockade has crippled Cuba's energy grid.
Cuba is shifting toward renewable energy using local resources.
Officials admit severe blackouts persist despite green energy efforts.
The Cuban government is moving forward with its plans to shift to renewable energy sources, in the wake of the ongoing de facto oil blockade from the United States that has resulted into strangling of the country's economy.
Cuban Minister of Energy and Mines Vicente de la O Levy explained in an interview given to Reuters that the ongoing blockade has forced Cuba to explore alternatives to foreign oil imports domestically.
In the interview, he said, “We are seeking our own alternative solutions, using our own resources, our sun, wind, tides, fuel, Cuban crude oil and the gas produced in our wells.”
In the interview, O Levy accepted the current crisis and said the country is suffering. “We are surviving and moving forward, little by little, even if not at the pace we would like,” he said.
He further added, We face long hours of blackouts and lack fuel for cooking and transportation. We lack fuel, but we are gradually making headway through our own solutions and our people.”
Blockade on Cuba
US President Donald Trump has blocked all oil shipments from Venezuela to Cuba, a close partner of Cuba's government. Later that month, Trump said he would place heavy taxes on any country sending oil to Cuba, claiming the island's government posed a threat to US national security.
Since these moves, only one Russian oil tanker has arrived in Havana. While the US has increased oil deliveries to Cuba's private businesses, it has mostly banned fuel shipments meant for the country's state-run industries.
Cuba's state-run power grid is widely seen as outdated and depends heavily on fossil fuels. According to the International Energy Agency, local oil production covers only 40 percent of the country's electricity needs, Al Jazeera reported.
The United Nations and human rights groups have criticized the oil blockade, saying it breaks international law.
