• Submitted by: admin
• Local
• Ciego de Avila
• 04 / 22 / 2009

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The sun is the source of energy that gives us light and warms up the planet. It heat varies from place to place depending on the amount of solar radiation, affecting the temperature of the air. Warm air is lighter and rises, while cold air is heavier and falls. This is what generates local winds. On a global scale, the difference of solar radiation between the poles and the equator, together with the earth’s rotation, cause the movement of high and low pressure air masses, giving rise to winds. Thus, wind energy is an indirect result of solar energy. It is renewable, free and cannot be blockaded. On the down side, is that it is intermittent and variable.

Development in Cuba

According to the World Association of Wind Energy, Cuba is number 61 in terms of wind-generated energy. The first wind in Isla Turiguanó, Ciego de Ávila has two generators that produce 225 kW.

One of the goals of the Cuban Energy Revolution is to foster wind-generated energy, and the country is hard at work putting together a wind potential map of the country. A park is currently being erected called Gibara 2, after which the country will have a combined capacity of 11.7 MW. After ten years, Cuba could produce as much as 2,000 MW. The threat of hurricanes is the most difficult factor to deal with. In 2008, hurricanes caused extensive damage to the Los Canarreos wind park on Isla de la Juventud, and in the Gibara 1 park the control plant was destroyed by hurricanes.

Source: Juventud Rebelde