In 2023, Cuba relied on fossil fuels for about 95% of its electricity, including roughly 13% from gas. Low-carbon sources supplied only about 5%, with biofuels contributing around 2% and solar just over 1%. This leaves Cuba’s electricity supply overwhelmingly dependent on fossil fuels, with substantial scope to expand clean electricity and reduce climate-changing emissions and air pollution.

Is Electricity Growing in Cuba?

Cuba’s electricity consumption is well below its historical peak rather than showing sustained growth. In 2023, consumption was about 1,390 kWh per person, roughly 470 kWh—or 25%—below the 2018 record of 1,856 kWh. Low-carbon electricity generation was also far below its peak: just 65 kWh per person, compared with 145 kWh in 1990, a decline of about 55%. These setbacks are concerning: Cuba needs greater electricity availability, especially from clean sources, to support economic activity and future electrification.

Suggestions

Cuba should prioritize solar expansion while developing wind generation and considering nuclear power as part of a long-term clean electricity strategy. Useful island examples include the US state of Hawaii and Cyprus, where solar provides about 23% of electricity generation, and Cape Verde, where solar and wind each contribute around 14%. In Latin America, Chile generates almost a quarter of its electricity from solar, while Uruguay gets about a third from wind. Cuba could learn from these regions’ experience integrating solar and wind, alongside investment in grids and storage. For nuclear power, France generates about two-thirds of its electricity from this low-carbon source, while the United Arab Emirates generates a fifth, illustrating nuclear power’s potential contribution to a diversified clean electricity supply.

History

Cuba’s recorded low-carbon electricity history is dominated by fluctuations in biofuel generation. In the 1970s and 1980s, a 0.2 TWh decline in 1972 was followed by gains of 0.1 TWh in both 1978 and 1988. Generation rose another 0.2 TWh in 1990, but the 1990s then brought repeated setbacks, including a 0.4 TWh fall in 1993, interrupted by partial recoveries in 1996 and 1999. Further declines of 0.2 TWh in 2003 and 0.4 TWh in 2005 outweighed the modest recovery in 2008. Small gains in 2012 and 2013 followed a decline in 2010, but biofuel generation fell again in 2018, 2021 and 2022. Solar added 0.1 TWh in 2018—a welcome step, although the listed changes show that sustained clean electricity growth has yet to emerge.

Electricity Imports and Exports

Balance of Trade