UK and Cuba in renewable energy deal
HAVANA Energy has signed the UK’s first renewable energy partnership with Cuba, committing £250m to a joint venture with Cuban company Zerus to develop biomass power plants in the country.
The power plants are part of the Cuban government’s efforts to promote renewable energy production, and will be built 400 miles outside of Havana close to the area’s sugar mills.
The strategic partnership will decentralise Cuba’s grid, and improve power generation in area’s of the country where supply can be weak.
Havana Energy chairman Brian Wilson is a former UK energy minister, who said that he had been involved in boosting economic links between the UK and Cuba for more than a decade. “Cuba has an excellent record both in providing electricity for its people and promoting environmental sustainability,” he said in a statement. “This project will support both objectives.”
The companies expect the capital investment for the pilot plant, which will be the first stage of the project, to return an investment within five years.