From Caribbean News Now

SANCTI SPIRITUS, Cuba (ACN) — The first photovoltaic solar park with the use of pile driving technology in Cuba is currently being built in the province of Sancti Spíritus.

Misael Rodriguez, general manager of the Electricity Company (EC), said that the technology, from China, will considerably reduce the construction process, since contrary to the rest of the parks installed in the country, this does not use concrete.

Hence, he added, the use of piles, as structures supporting solar panels, is a more economical and productive process.

The new park covers 7.1 hectares (ha) and will produce 4.4 megawatts of photovoltaic solar energy.

The construction of this work will only take one and a half month, while that same process lasted twice that period when building the other park of the province, which only covers 2.5 ha.

According to Reinier Hernandez, EC specialist of Renewable Energy, pointed out that when the park is connected to the national grid, it will generate 6,600 mw / hour a year, which means thermoelectric plants will cease consuming more than 1,700 tons of fuel.

He said that the use of clean energy, which validates Cuba’s efforts to increase the efficiency of electricity generation and distribution from renewable sources, will make it possible to stop emitting some 5,603 tons of polluting gases into the atmosphere.

Research indicates that solar radiation received in one day on the Caribbean island is equivalent to the oil that is consumed in five years

IMAGE: solar_park.jpg

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