Context

The blockade imposed on Cuba considerably hinders its trade and complicates its energy supply, which remains very uncertain. Cuba managed until a few years ago to benefit from imports from Venezuela at prices well below the market, but now must supply itself mainly on the international market. As early as 2016, the Cuban state had given instructions to various ministries (e.g. energy, transport) to find ways to ensure maximum energy independence. Our association had then worked to study several channels of fuel production based on different local resources such as ethanol produced from sugar cane, biogas produced by public dumps, used cooking oil from the hotel industry, etc.).

In 2020, the Cuban government passed a decree aimed at promoting electromobility, i.e., favoring electrically powered modes of transportation. The technological development of the various systems of electrification of transport makes the production of fuel of vegetable origin less interesting.

In the area of transport, taking into account the very low rate of individual car ownership in Cuba and the extremely low household income, little change in the short or medium term can be expected in terms of reducing the CO2 footprint of the individual car fleet.

On the other hand, it is in the public transport sector that decarbonization efforts will be undertaken more quickly, as these are exclusively managed by the Cuban State. The latter can therefore more easily invest resources than individuals and weigh the savings to be expected for the general economy by reducing oil imports.

Our objectives in Cuba

The purpose of our action in Cuba is to support the efforts of the Ministries of Transport and Energy to initiate electric energy production. green “The aim is to promote the electrification of Havana’s suburban railway network and then the urban public transport network. The energy produced will not be strictly limited to the production of traction power, but will also be used to supply the general network. The goal is to support Cuba in the development of methodologies for the production of decarbonized energy, which will eventually make the country energy independent.

However, the drastic limitation of the resources available to the Cuban State for investment remains a very penalizing factor that must be constantly taken into account, for example by defining schedules of actions compatible with the available annual budgets.

The first priority of our association is focused on the Hershey network, mainly connecting Havana to Matanzas, which is the only group of electrified lines in Cuba, has 120 km and is in a very dilapidated state. We are working closely with the railway authorities to modernize the system, including the rolling stock with Swiss rail vehicles, in order to support the implementation of the government’s electromobility decree.

In addition to the energy aspect, the entire transport chain in Cuba needs to be modernized so that the population can overcome the chronic shortage of means of transport, which makes daily life very difficult. Our association will also provide support to help achieve this goal.

Difficulties encountered

Cuba has very little experience in the management of high-powered solar power generation devices, nor does it have specialists in the maintenance of modern electric rail vehicles. Intense training of local specialists is necessary, in the sense of a North-South transfer of know-how involving various Swiss and Cuban authorities.

Action plan

In view of the investments to be made (in the order of CHF 25 to 30 million) to upgrade the Hershey network and to enable the current production of electrical energy by a particularly polluting thermoelectric plant to be replaced by solar energy production devices, the period 2022 – 2025 will be entirely devoted to this object.

In order to allow an evaluation of the environmental benefits brought by this step, an economic-environmental simulation model applied to Cuba and developed during a PhD work at EPFL will also be used.

The action plan is based on the following elements:

• Supply of second-hand Swiss rolling stock, of recent construction, perfectly compatible and reconditioned, to cover all operating needs
• Complete renovation of the traction energy supply facilities by supplying Swiss substations in excellent condition
• Supply of material for the partial renovation of the contact line
• Supply of photovoltaic devices to launch decarbonized traction power generation in Cuba for the first time
• Training of local personnel in the operation, maintenance and management of the system
• Support for the renovation of railway stations and the optimization of railway operations with a focus on multi-modality for the first time in Cuba
• Application of the economic-environmental development model developed with the EPFL to measure the environmental impact of the renovation of this network and the implementation of a solar production program, in order to encourage the local authorities to intensify the production of electric power ” green “.
• Close collaboration with the Union of Cuban Railways (UFC), the Cuban Ministry of Transport (MITRANS), the Ministry of Finance (MEP), the Ministry of Cooperation (MINCEX) and the Ministry of the Environment (CITMA)
  
  

In order to respond to Cuba’s specific situation, all the measures taken into consideration will have a cost/benefit ratio constantly adapted to the country’s economic conditions