Cuba approves new rules for renewable energy use amid crisis

Cuba's government has enacted two new resolutions aimed at boosting the use of renewable energy sources and easing the financial strain on both private and state entities investing in the sector. These measures come as the island grapples with a severe energy crisis.

Resolution 180/2026, effective immediately, exempts individuals and legal entities from customs duties on imported solar photovoltaic systems, their components, and essential parts. This exemption extends to a range of other renewable energy technologies, including solar water heaters, photovoltaic pumps, small wind turbines, biogas digesters, solar lighting, and solar air conditioning systems.

The new regulations also cover chargers for electric vehicles powered by renewable sources and equipment for processing biomass into energy. Furthermore, the resolution offers tax incentives, such as bonuses on profit and personal income taxes, for legal and natural persons who invest in renewable energy for public service centers as part of their social responsibility.

Yenisley Ortiz, Cuba's deputy minister of Finance and Prices, explained that these investments will target facilities like polyclinics, maternity homes, clinics, family care centers, apartment buildings, homes for electro-dependent individuals, and water pumping stations in municipalities. Resolution 179/2026 modifies a previous one to broaden the scope for buying and selling energy generated from biomass and wind power fed into the national grid, which previously prioritized solar photovoltaic energy.

Cuba has been experiencing a profound energy crisis since mid-2024, attributed to internal production limitations and external pressures, including U.S. sanctions impacting crude oil imports. The country has faced numerous blackouts, with widespread power outages becoming a daily reality for many Cubans.

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investments in polyclinics, maternity homes, clinics, family care centers, apartment buildings, homes for electro-dependent individuals, and also in water pumping in the municipalities.