Combined heat and power plants (CHPPs) still constitute the basis of Cuban energy sector. According to Global Energy Monitor, in 2024 24 power units of fuel oil fired CHPPs were operating in the country; their total capacity was 3.1 GW: sixteen of them for 1.9 GW were commissioned between 1969 and 1991, and the remaining eight for 1.2 GW – after 1996. Also, there are two gas-fired power units of 486 MW and one diesel-fired power plant of 84 MW.
The share of CHPPs in Cuban energy mix reached 95.3% in 2023, while as the share of RES was only 4.7% including wind and solar generators accounting for 1.8%, hydropower stations – for 0.8%, and biomass-fueled units – for 2.1% (the sugarcane trash making the main feedstock). According to the International Resumable Energy Agency (IRENA), Cuba is ahead of all other countries of Central and South America in terms of the installed capacity of the sugarcane-fueled power plants (950 MW vs 863 MW in Guatemala and 295 MW in El Salvador).
According to Ember, the overall demand for energy in Cuba grew from 15 TWh in 2000 up to 20.7 TWh in 2019. However, by 2023 the consumption deceased down to 15.3 TWh. Blackouts constituted one of the reasons, which could not be fully mitigated due to using floating generation units operating on petroleum products for electricity generation. The government of Cuba intends to partially resolve these problems by building 92 SPPs until 2028, and 55 of them are scheduled for commissioning this year.
