El Algarrobo was inaugurated this week, with only Cuban specialists, following “the unexpected departure of the Chinese technicians”
14ymedio, Madrid, September 10, 2026 / The El Algarrobo solar park in Guantánamo, put into operation last August, is receiving unusual attention for being just one of more than 50 facilities of its kind already on the island. This past Tuesday, the state press announced its inauguration by none other than the Minister of Energy and Mines himself, Vicente de la O Levy.
On both occasions, official circles insisted on the fact that this is the first photovoltaic plant “whose startup and synchronization was handled solely by domestic specialists.” In other words, no Chinese hand was involved, as had been the case in all previous instances until now. Behind the heroic prose, they let slip a troubling reason: “The circumstance arose following the unexpected departure of the Chinese technicians who were providing assistance to the project.”
Both this past August, when the synchronization of the park to the National Energy System (SEN) was announced, and at this inauguration, official statements indicated that “the reasons for that departure have not been specified,” and that “Cuban specialists then had to take over the programming and adjustment of the Chinese-made equipment installed at the park.” Construction of the park had begun in February 2025.
They did report that after the sudden departure of the Chinese, “the process required nearly a month of work to achieve synchronization of the first inverter.” In total, they explain, there are seven inverters
They did report that after the sudden departure of the Chinese, “the process required nearly a month of work to achieve synchronization of the first inverter.” In total, they explain, there are seven inverters.
El Algarrobo, in any case, according to the official media report, is part of the cooperation program with China to incorporate a total of 92 photovoltaic parks by 2028, which would amount to a generation capacity of 2,000 megawatts (MW). According to official data, as of March there were 52 completed solar installations on the island, which together contribute more than 1,000 MW, accounting for up to 38% of the electricity “consumed during daytime hours at times of peak solar output,” according to authorities.
Like most of its kind on the island, El Algarrobo has no storage system, so it only delivers its output — 21.8 MW — during daylight hours, and only when there are no clouds.
The fanfare-filled announcement of the plant’s inauguration in Guantánamo coincides with accusations from Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez against the United States for extending the energy blockade to photovoltaic parks. “Now shipping companies are being threatened not to bring in solar panels and batteries for the new photovoltaic parks that we have learned to install in 45 days,” the Minister of Foreign Affairs said via his X account this past Monday.
In the same post, Rodríguez — who that same day had presented to friendly press a report “on the blockade” estimating the value of damages from U.S. sanctions between March 2025 and February 2026 at more than 8 billion dollars — referred to the rest of the pressures stemming from the executive order signed by U.S. President Donald Trump on January 29, 2026, following the intervention in Venezuela that ended with the capture of Nicolás Maduro. “If fuel and diesel could be imported for the distributed generation generator sets, the blackout could be reduced to a minimum, but the fuel blockade prevents importing them,” the Foreign Minister wrote.
If fuel and diesel could be imported for the distributed generation generator sets, the blackout could be reduced to a minimum, but the fuel blockade prevents importing them,” the Foreign Minister wrote
The Minister did not say a single word about China or its departure, but it is a fact that, at least until early last month, both countries displayed their usual cordiality. On August 7, for example, the Asian giant delivered the first batch of materials corresponding to another 5,000 photovoltaic systems for isolated homes. The ceremony included Hua Xin and Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Trade Óscar Pérez-Oliva Fraga. The Chinese Embassy presented the operation as further evidence of the speed of its cooperation with Cuba.
The delivery took place after the new U.S. sanctions announced this year and the July measures against Cuban entities related to foreign trade and ports. So far, Havana has not publicly identified any specific shipping company that has refused to transport solar panels, nor has it detailed what cargo may have been held up as a direct result of those pressures.
What is documented is that the problems with the photovoltaic program begin at the ports. In January 2025, difficulties became known during the construction of Ciego Norte, one of the first major parks in the Chinese program. Cuban workers acknowledged at the time that they were barely able to complete two structures per day and that the assembly required far more precision than anticipated.
China had to send operators after some of its machines began breaking down, having been subjected by the Cuban side to stresses greater than those for which they had been designed. The Asian specialists also imposed a work pace that the official report itself described as far higher than usual among local brigades.
The lack of materials at that time was also not attributable to a U.S. ban on panels. Some 200 containers with inverters, transformers, and other components had not arrived on time, while workers complained that they could have started months earlier if they had had the resources “on site.”
Translated by GH.
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