Cuba: Between charcoal and solar panels

Several kilometres away, along Havana's iconic Malecón waterfront, a different reality is taking shape. Under the midday heat, workers move large photovoltaic panels across the roof of the Fuego Lento restaurant overlooking the sea. Several floors below, customers eat lunch while technicians drill, bolt and connect the new installation.Josecal Duarte, one of the technicians overseeing the project, has witnessed demand surge."More and more people are importing solar panels and batteries. They're buying them for their businesses, for their homes, to survive."A 615-watt solar panel costs about $160 before transport and installation. Most homes and businesses require several panels, along with lithium battery systems capable of storing electricity generated during the day.Inside the restaurant, owner Aris Lopez Torres says she spent years searching for ways to keep her business afloat. First came a generator, then lithium batteries, but rising fuel prices and increasingly frequent blackouts quickly exposed the limits of both options."It was either this or close the restaurant," she says. "Without electricity, we can't do anything."The photovoltaic installation will not cover all of the restaurant's needs, but it allows essential equipment to keep operating."The refrigerators are the priority," she explains. "We're only using one air conditioner out of three now. It's survival economics because the situation is very serious."Across the capital, solar installation companies and battery retailers are struggling to keep up with demand."Demand keeps growing," says Mario Perdomo, who works for MIDICAS, a company that installs solar systems throughout Cuba."People want to be prepared when the power goes out," adds Elizabeth Diego, a saleswoman in central Havana.For a large part of the Cuban population, however, these technologies remain out of reach.