Luis San Juan, directivo del Grupo Nacional de la Energía Renovable, señaló que la instalación tendrá capacidad para generar 4,5 megavatios y estará formado por seis máquinas del tipo Goldwind S-50.
Cuando se concluya, el potencial del municipio de Gibara se elevará a 9,6 megavatios, con lo que se consolidará como el mayor generador nacional de energía eléctrica, a partir del aprovechamiento de una fuente renovable y no contaminante.
Explicó que el equipamiento requerido, de tecnología china, se encuentra almacenado en el propio territorio, en naves de la proyectada fábrica de cemento, que fueron acondicionadas para ese fin.
Gibara II debe entrar en servicios en el transcurso de este año, gracias a la experiencia adquirida por constructores e inversionistas en el montaje de la primera instalación de este tipo puesta en marcha en 2008.
El aprovechamiento de la energía eólica en la generación de electricidad, constituye una alternativa en vías de desarrollo en Cuba, como fuente segura para producir corriente a bajo costo y sin contaminar el medio.
Los estudios realizados en el país para el aprovechamiento creciente de la energía derivada del viento, identificaron a más de 30 zonas factibles, de las cuales ocho se localizan en la región oriental.
Pormenores al respecto se expusieron en la VI Conferencia Internacional de Energía Renovable, Ahorro y Educación Energética, que sesiona en el Palacio de Convenciones de La Habana.
En la actualidad, Cuba tiene tres parques eólicos: Gibara I, Turiguanó, en Ciego de Ávila y Los Canarreos, en la Isla de la Juventud, los que posibilitan la generación de 7,2 megavatios de electricidad, a la vez que se ubican los sitios de prefactibilidad de nuevos sitios en nueve zonas del país.
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Gibara Holguin Cuba wind farm update
At the end of 2008 and in early 2009 the company received the certification of Cuban operators for starting the operations of the Gibara I wind farm, which uses Spanish technology and is able to generate more than five megawatts.
Work on constructing Gibara II has begun at Punta Rasa, where six Golwind S-50 machines of Chinese technology will be installed, which will have the capacity of 4.5 megawatts.
So far the geological and seismological research and clearing the area are completed, as well as the required permission from granting agencies to begin the construction work.
When the wind farm is completed, the potential of renewable energy can reach 9.6 megawatts. These two parks as a whole represent an important wind emplacement for Cuba, which is currently testing several alternative energy sources to replace fossil fuels.
Cuba wind energy
According to the World Association of Wind Energy, Cuba is number 61 in terms of wind-generated energy. The first wind in Isla Turiguanó, Ciego de Ávila has two generators that produce 225 kW.
One of the goals of the Cuban Energy Revolution is to foster wind-generated energy, and the country is hard at work putting together a wind potential map of the country. A park is currently being erected called Gibara 2, after which the country will have a combined capacity of 11.7 MW. After ten years, Cuba could produce as much as 2,000 MW.
The threat of hurricanes is the most difficult factor to deal with. In 2008, hurricanes caused extensive damage to the Los Canarreos wind park on Isla de la Juventud, and in the Gibara 1 park the control plant was destroyed by hurricanes.
By the end of the decade, Cuba could see its power-generating capacity increase through the use of wind energy by some 300 MW a year — output close to that of a major regional generating plant. This eco-friendly power source is under study on the island as part of the nation’s "energy revolution."
The director of the Cuban Electric Union’s Wind Engineering Group, Eduardo Sante Fernandez, said Cuba expects to generate more than 11.5 MW from wind power in 2009.
The island’s first experimental wind farm was built in 1999 on the island of Turiguano and has a power generating capacity of 4.5 MW. The same experience was later extended to Gibara, Holguin (5.1 MW) and to the Island of Youth (1.65 MW.)
The Cuban government, which is conducting a feasibility study on the use of wind power generation, has already created an eolian map identifying the energy potential of wind across the island. With this guide, the placement of additional wind farms can be appropriately located.
In 11 of the country’s 15 provinces there also exist 92 eolian prospecting stations, each with 100-meter-high sensors. Another 20 stations record the energy potential of coastal winds in the eastern provinces.
Other potential eco-friendly energy sources being studied in Cuba are water currents and tides, as well as the use of photovoltaic panels and biogas in regions with no access to the national electric grid.
