Cuba's Fragile Power Grid Finds a Powerful New Partner
- The recent extended blackout in Cuba, following a weekslong US oil blockade, has served to deepen Cuba's energy alliance with China.
- China is significantly increasing its support for Cuba's energy transition, including a massive ramp-up in solar equipment exports and pledges to help build nearly 100 solar parks and the island’s largest wind farm.
- Despite China's growing support, the energy transition Cuba has outlined is estimated to require $8 billion to $10 billion in investment, a sum the country lacks, suggesting there are limits to China's generosity.
Cuba finally reconnected its power supply on Tuesday after an extended blackout swept the island as the United States tried to choke off the island’s energy supply. Blackouts lasted nearly 30 hours as Donald Trump engineered an oil blockade and publicly ruminated about whether he would have the “honor of taking Cuba.” But the move, rather than isolating Cuba, may have just deepened its ties with China.
Cuba, which is already beleaguered with an obsolete and fragile power system, saw its grid collapse under the weight of the weekslong oil blockade. The Caribbean island nation’s energy system uses about 100,000 barrels of oil a day to power aging and ‘decrepit’ thermal power plants that the country received from the former Soviet Union.
Cuban leadership has not publicly stated what caused the island’s power grid to go dark on Monday, but the issues are likely to persist as the United States’ aggression continues. Once energy was restored 29 hours later, President Miguel Diaz-Canel blasted Washington’s "almost daily public threats against Cuba."
The Trump administration has been vocal about its desire to oust the communist leader. However, experts warn that this would merely topple the figurehead of a country teetering on the edge of humanitarian collapse without actually doing anything to dismantle its political system. On Tuesday, Diaz-Canel wrote on social media that United States officials “intend to announce plans to take over the country, its resources, its properties, and even the very economy they seek to suffocate in order to force us to surrender.”
But while Cuba may be David to the United States’ Goliath, it has one very powerful ally. “As the Trump administration steps back from U.S. climate commitments and reinvests in fossil fuels, China is flexing its dominance in renewable energy, using offers of equipment, expertise and financing as geopolitical levers,” the Washington Post wrote in a Wednesday report.
This alliance could prove critical to rebuilding a stronger, more resilient, and more independent energy grid powered by domestically generated renewable energies rather than fossil fuel imports. Cuba has struggled to reach its own goals of renewable energy expansion and integration over the past decade, with renewables contributing just 9 percent of the national energy mix at present, but increased support from China could change that.
China has been exporting solar equipment for years now, but their trade relationship has massively ramped up in recent years and is predicted to continue its growth trajectory. According to British energy think tank Ember, China shipped $5 million worth of solar equipment to Cuba in 2023. In 2025 the figure was $117 million – a 2,240 percent increase. China has also pledged to help Cuba build nearly 100 solar parks by 2028, and many of these projects – more than half, according to authorities – have already come online. China is also backing the construction of the island’s largest wind farm, La Herradura 1.
But there may be limits to China’s generosity, and those limits may fall far short of what Cuba needs to wean itself off of its imperilled import dependencies once and for all. Ricardo Torres, an energy economist at the American University in Washington, explained, “The energy transition outlined by the government would require investments of around $8 billion to $10 billion over the next decade… Cuba simply does not have that kind of money, and China will not pay for everything.”
However, Cuba provides a strategic alliance for China, which reportedly has installed spy stations on the island that is just 90 miles away from the United States at its closest point. In February, a spokesman for the Chinese Embassy in Washington said that China’s energy cooperation with Cuba has achieved “fruitful results” and will continue going forward. “We oppose unwarranted interference by external forces and reject any actions that deprive the Cuban people of their right to subsistence and development,” spokesman Liu Pengyu told The Washington Post.
By Haley Zaremba for Oilprice.com
- The recent extended blackout in Cuba, following a weekslong US oil blockade, has served to deepen Cuba's energy alliance with China.
- China is significantly increasing its support for Cuba's energy transition, including a massive ramp-up in solar equipment exports and pledges to help build nearly 100 solar parks and the island’s largest wind farm.
- Despite China's growing support, the energy transition Cuba has outlined is estimated to require $8 billion to $10 billion in investment, a sum the country lacks, suggesting there are limits to China's generosity.
Cuba finally reconnected its power supply on Tuesday after an extended blackout swept the island as the United States tried to choke off the island’s energy supply. Blackouts lasted nearly 30 hours as Donald Trump engineered an oil blockade and publicly ruminated about whether he would have the “honor of taking Cuba.” But the move, rather than isolating Cuba, may have just deepened its ties with China.
Cuba, which is already beleaguered with an obsolete and fragile power system, saw its grid collapse under the weight of the weekslong oil blockade. The Caribbean island nation’s energy system uses about 100,000 barrels of oil a day to power aging and ‘decrepit’ thermal power plants that the country received from the former Soviet Union.
Cuban leadership has not publicly stated what caused the island’s power grid to go dark on Monday, but the issues are likely to persist as the United States’ aggression continues. Once energy was restored 29 hours later, President Miguel Diaz-Canel blasted Washington’s "almost daily public threats against Cuba."
The Trump administration has been vocal about its desire to oust the communist leader. However, experts warn that this would merely topple the figurehead of a country teetering on the edge of humanitarian collapse without actually doing anything to dismantle its political system. On Tuesday, Diaz-Canel wrote on social media that United States officials “intend to announce plans to take over the country, its resources, its properties, and even the very economy they seek to suffocate in order to force us to surrender.”
But while Cuba may be David to the United States’ Goliath, it has one very powerful ally. “As the Trump administration steps back from U.S. climate commitments and reinvests in fossil fuels, China is flexing its dominance in renewable energy, using offers of equipment, expertise and financing as geopolitical levers,” the Washington Post wrote in a Wednesday report.
This alliance could prove critical to rebuilding a stronger, more resilient, and more independent energy grid powered by domestically generated renewable energies rather than fossil fuel imports. Cuba has struggled to reach its own goals of renewable energy expansion and integration over the past decade, with renewables contributing just 9 percent of the national energy mix at present, but increased support from China could change that.
China has been exporting solar equipment for years now, but their trade relationship has massively ramped up in recent years and is predicted to continue its growth trajectory. According to British energy think tank Ember, China shipped $5 million worth of solar equipment to Cuba in 2023. In 2025 the figure was $117 million – a 2,240 percent increase. China has also pledged to help Cuba build nearly 100 solar parks by 2028, and many of these projects – more than half, according to authorities – have already come online. China is also backing the construction of the island’s largest wind farm, La Herradura 1.
But there may be limits to China’s generosity, and those limits may fall far short of what Cuba needs to wean itself off of its imperilled import dependencies once and for all. Ricardo Torres, an energy economist at the American University in Washington, explained, “The energy transition outlined by the government would require investments of around $8 billion to $10 billion over the next decade… Cuba simply does not have that kind of money, and China will not pay for everything.”
However, Cuba provides a strategic alliance for China, which reportedly has installed spy stations on the island that is just 90 miles away from the United States at its closest point. In February, a spokesman for the Chinese Embassy in Washington said that China’s energy cooperation with Cuba has achieved “fruitful results” and will continue going forward. “We oppose unwarranted interference by external forces and reject any actions that deprive the Cuban people of their right to subsistence and development,” spokesman Liu Pengyu told The Washington Post.
By Haley Zaremba for Oilprice.com
Two Russian Cargoes Offer Temporary Relief for Cuba's Energy Emergency
Cuba is set to soon receive two Russian cargoes of crude and diesel amid the U.S. energy blockade that has caused an unprecedented power crisis in the country.
The shipments from Russia, which considers Cuba as one of few “friendly countries”, could test the U.S. resolve to continue isolating energy shipments for the island. If the tankers en route to Cuba do arrive in the coming days, they would be the first Russian oil and fuel shipments to the country this year.
The tanker Anatoly Kolodkin, sanctioned by the U.S., the EU, and the UK, is mid-voyage in the Atlantic under Russian flag and expected to arrive at the island in about 10 days, Jorge Piñón, an expert at the University of Texas Energy Institute, told The Associated Press.
The Anatoly Kolodkin is estimated to carry about 730,000 barrels of crude oil, which has to be processed into fuels in order to help alleviate Cuba’s power crisis, which culminated earlier this week in a 29-hour nationwide blackout.
According to Piñón, the shipment on Anatoly Kolodkin could be processed into about 180,000 barrels of diesel, which would power Cuba for about 10 days.
A second shipment, of Russian diesel, is on the Sea Horse vessel with a Hong Kong flag and is about 958 nautical miles from Matanzas, Cuba, Piñón told AP. If the cargo ends up in Cuba, it could be also used to ease the supply shortages in critical sectors such as agriculture.
Last month, Russia said it plans to send soon oil and oil products to Cuba as part of humanitarian aid.
Cuba’s worsening economic and humanitarian situation has gone from bad to worse as the U.S., which now controls Venezuela’s oil sales, is banning shipments to Cuba.
Venezuela was a key oil and fuel supplier to Cuba and was also among Russia’s “friendly countries”, until U.S. forces captured Nicolas Maduro in early January and took control over the country’s oil sales.
By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com
Cuba is set to soon receive two Russian cargoes of crude and diesel amid the U.S. energy blockade that has caused an unprecedented power crisis in the country.
The shipments from Russia, which considers Cuba as one of few “friendly countries”, could test the U.S. resolve to continue isolating energy shipments for the island. If the tankers en route to Cuba do arrive in the coming days, they would be the first Russian oil and fuel shipments to the country this year.
The tanker Anatoly Kolodkin, sanctioned by the U.S., the EU, and the UK, is mid-voyage in the Atlantic under Russian flag and expected to arrive at the island in about 10 days, Jorge Piñón, an expert at the University of Texas Energy Institute, told The Associated Press.
The Anatoly Kolodkin is estimated to carry about 730,000 barrels of crude oil, which has to be processed into fuels in order to help alleviate Cuba’s power crisis, which culminated earlier this week in a 29-hour nationwide blackout.
According to Piñón, the shipment on Anatoly Kolodkin could be processed into about 180,000 barrels of diesel, which would power Cuba for about 10 days.
A second shipment, of Russian diesel, is on the Sea Horse vessel with a Hong Kong flag and is about 958 nautical miles from Matanzas, Cuba, Piñón told AP. If the cargo ends up in Cuba, it could be also used to ease the supply shortages in critical sectors such as agriculture.
Last month, Russia said it plans to send soon oil and oil products to Cuba as part of humanitarian aid.
Cuba’s worsening economic and humanitarian situation has gone from bad to worse as the U.S., which now controls Venezuela’s oil sales, is banning shipments to Cuba.
Venezuela was a key oil and fuel supplier to Cuba and was also among Russia’s “friendly countries”, until U.S. forces captured Nicolas Maduro in early January and took control over the country’s oil sales.
By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com
UK Tracks Russian Tanker as US Tightens the Rules on Oil to Cuba
Close attention is being paid to two tankers, which observers suspected were heading toward Cuba in a Russian effort to provide some relief to the fuel-starved island. The Trump administration is continuing its efforts toward regime change by imposing a near-total ban on support to the island and its communist government.
The UK Royal Navy reported yesterday, March 19, that it had been tracking a Russian-flagged tanker managed by Sovcomflot and its warship escort. The tanker Anatoly Kolodkin is thought to be Russia’s attempt to support Cuba. It loaded with 730,000 barrels of Russian crude at Primorsky at the beginning of the month, according to Kpler data. Their analysts report the ship could reach the Caribbean as early as next week and arrive at Cuba within 10 days.
The Royal Navy reported that it dispatched Portsmouth-based HMS Mersey along with a Wildcat helicopter to track the tanker’s transit through the English Channel. The warship reportedly completed a 48-hour monitoring effort as the tanker left the Channel and headed into the Atlantic. The Royal Navy reports the tanker was accompanied through the Channel by the Russian Steregushchiy-class frigate RFN Soobrazitelny. The frigate, however, turned back eastwards, reports the Royal Navy.
The tanker Anatoly Kolodkin (118,316 dwt) is under U.S., UK, and EU sanctions. Someone aboard the vessel appears to have a sense of humor. Knowing they are being watched, the AIS destination has been reading “Atlantis.” At one point, it said USA. Kpler and many others believe the ship is heading for Matanzas, Cuba.
Asked about the situation during his testimony at the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee hearing Thursday, Commander of Southern Command, Marine General Francis Donovan confirmed the U.S. is also tracking the tanker. He called it a “replenishment ship” and said the U.S. also believes it is scheduled to make a port call in Cuba. He asserted that even if the ship delivers its cargo, it would have no significant impact on Cuba’s current shortages. Most analysts agree that, after refining, which would take time, they suggest that at most it buys Cuba two weeks.
Donovan told the Senate hearing that his command is not currently rehearsing any military intervention in Cuba. The New York Times, however, reports that two U.S. Coast Guard vessels are believed to be on patrol around the island to deter any activity. Earlier in the year, it is believed the Coast Guard approached another tanker and scared it away to the Dominican Republic.
Similarly, a Chinese-owned product tanker named Sea Horse now appears to have been intimidated not to approach Cuba. The vessel is believed to be carrying Russian diesel, and last month, the suspicion was that it was bound for Cuba. It stopped in the mid-Atlantic, and its AIS now shows it is going to Venezuela. Reuters, citing data from LSEG ship-tracking, believes the product tanker has made a sharp turn to the south and is going to Trinidad. Windward Maritime AI, however, points out that the Sea Horse has been using various deception methods. It turned off its AIS and at another point listed itself as “not under command.” If it were going to Cuba, it would be days away, but the suspicion is that it stopped to find a new buyer for its cargo.
The Trump administration has at times been reported to be considering humanitarian relief for Cuba while continuing its overall pressure campaign. They had said fuel might be permitted to ensure the water supply continues. At the beginning of the week, Cuba experienced an island-wide power failure linked to the fuel shortages.
The U.S. Treasury on Thursday, however, also closed what seems to have been a loophole that could have benefited Cuba. Last week, the Treasury said it was temporarily suspending the restrictions on Russian oil to let cargoes loaded before March 11 be sold before April 11 in an effort to ease the pressure on the energy markets due to the attacks on Iran. At the time, the only restriction was against sales related to Iran, but now the U.S. has added Cuba and North Korea to the restrictions.
For now, it is a wait-and-see if either tanker will attempt to reach Cuba.
