Help Cuba Go Solar

During a televised address two weeks ago, Cuba’s President Miguel Díaz-Canel told the nation that during daylight hours, 38% of Cuba’s electricity is now generated from solar power.

Despite huge financial constraints, the island has quietly been building up its renewable capacity. Cuba currently has four wind farms, with a fifth being built in Herradura, a village on the northern coast of the eastern province of Holguín.

Chinese financing has been key. In 2024, Havana and Beijing signed an agreement to build seven solar parks. That same year, Cuba set a target of installing 92 solar parks by 2028. By October 2025, the island had 32 up and running.

“They’ve been moving very fast since 2024,” said Emily Morris, development economist at University College London. “They’ve negotiated the supply of the equipment and have organized a nationwide system of distribution, training and installation.”

While the oil blockade aims to create a humanitarian crisis, she said it also has the unintended effect of spurring the green transition.

“Market economies have used subsidies and carbon taxes to incentivize the shift toward renewables. But there’s nothing more powerful than cutting off oil to accelerate the energy transition.”

The Let Cuba Live! campaign recently launched a fundraising drive to send solar generators and panels to Cuban hospitals. So far, $167,664 has been donated.

“As Trump attempts to trigger a crisis by cutting off oil, we say: You cannot blockade the sun!” said Manolo De Los Santos, executive director of The People’s Forum, one of the groups organizing the campaign.

The Democratic Socialists of America will launch its Stop the Siege campaign on Sunday “to fight [the Trump administration’s] escalation, send material aid, build a powerful legislative push, and change the narrative around Cuba in the United States.”

And a coalition of groups, including Progressive International and CodePink, is organizing an air and sea convoy to deliver food and medicine to Cuba on March 21. See how you can donate or get involved.