Construction progresses at a steady pace on Ciego de Ávila province’s third 21.87-megawatt (MW) solar photovoltaic park (PVP), located within the La Cuba agricultural hub. The project aims to reduce daytime deficits in the National Electricity System through its contributions.
Daniel Pérez García, General Director of the Ciego de Ávila Electricity Company, informed the Cuban News Agency (ACN) that this significant renewable energy facility targets inauguration on 25 July in honour of National Rebellion Day – «a demanding yet achievable task».
To date, the project is approximately 80% complete across all assembly activities. Pérez García noted many tasks face complications due to hard soil conditions with shallow bedrock.
Technically, the La Cuba solar park meets two fundamental requirements: proximity under five kilometres to a 110 kV substation (mere metres in this case) and an eight-kilometre separation from other PV facilities, explained the electricity company director.
Nearly a thousand workers from Ciego de Ávila’s Construction and Assembly Enterprise and the provincial Electricity Enterprise labour from dawn to dusk to deliver this photovoltaic park one month ahead of the initial schedule.
Pedro Manuel Évora Hernández, Deputy Director of the Construction and Assembly Enterprise, stated that ground conditions necessitated a different strategy than other parks. This required prioritising trenching for cable burial before subsequent construction phases.
He elaborated that the work strategy involves parallel advancement across all fronts: drilling and pile casting, table and panel mounting, cabling, trenching, perimeter fencing, guard posts, lighting, central node construction, and access road development.
«To meet the deadline, we must achieve no fewer than 60 fully assembled tables (with structures and panels) daily, plus 550 drilled and cast piles. This defines our critical path,» clarified the executive from this Avilanian entity under the Ministry of Construction.
The province’s comprehensive energy recovery programme currently includes another 21.8 MW park and a 5 MW facility. Upon completion, solar sources will provide 108 MW of installed capacity – equivalent to the province’s peak midday demand.
