Cuba: Construction of Solar Parks in Ciego de Avila is moving Forward

November 23, 2024

The construction of three photovoltaic solar parks of Chinese technology, with a power of 21.87 megawatts (MW) each, is a priority in Ciego de Avila in view of the very high and continuous deficits of electricity generation that affect the economic and social life in the country. Julio Gómez Casanova, first secretary of the PCC in the province, and Alfre Menéndez Pérez, governor, recently visited the one that shows the greatest progress, called Ciego Norte and close to the community of Grego, in the capital municipality, to check the progress of the works and the difficulties that may delay its schedule, currently, this work is going through its critical route in the screwing of the 18,816 piles to the ground, a process in which machines operated by Cuban specialists and from the People’s Republic of China are participating.

Jorge Alejandro Jiménez Vivas, civil engineer and main specialist in Ciego Norte, informed that up to Wednesday, the bolting of the piles was at 28% of completion, while the whole of the civil and technological part of the park was progressing up to 44%. To date, elements such as the completion of the temporary facilities for the development of the work and the 110 kilovolt (kV) sub-transmission line that will link this renewable energy facility with the national electric system (SEN) have been concluded. In the next few days progress will be made on the perimeter fence and lighting.

Grego is working at a good pace to continue without stopping the construction sequence of activities such as trenching, the assembly of 2,000 tables that will support the sets of photovoltaic solar panels and the installation of 202 kilometers of cabling, inverters and the laying of fiber optics, among others, to be completely finished by February 28, according to the forecasts of the main directors. “We have been following up on the work with our work team, builders and investors. The work is progressing favorably, on schedule”, the governor of Ciego de Avila commented to the press.

In Ciego Norte, in addition to workers of the electric sector, forces of the Empresa Constructora de Obras del Turismo de Cayo Coco and the Unidad Constructora Militar El Vaquerito, both with experience in the execution of these works, are working in parallel on two other photovoltaic parks in La Cuba, municipality of Baraguá, and in Carolina, municipality of Venezuela.

In the first one, the clearing works are finished, the deposit to be loaned there is being drilled to start the blasting and earth movement, which will be of approximately 12,000 cubic meters of rock, and he added that “in Carolina we currently have teams clearing the land for the land study activities, which should not have any complications”. As part of this check-up, it was learned that in the parks under construction in the Baraguá and Venezuela territories, the construction of temporary facilities is in progress so that, upon the arrival of the construction forces, the work will not present any major complications.

Mario Toledo Carrasco, director of the business unit of renewable energy sources belonging to Empresa Eléctrica Ciego de Ávila, said that along with the investment process, progress is being made in the training of technical operators, who will work once the parks in the towns of Grego and La Cuba are completed.

These three parks will add an installed capacity of 65 MW for next year’s summer stage, which, together with those already operating in Ceballos, Chambas, Venezuela and Morón (15 MW in total), will allow the province to reach 80 MW for the midday peak, which would make it possible to cover almost the demand of the territory during that period of the day.

Source: ACN