Source: The Economist, February 26, 2026
https://www.economist.com/the-americas/2026/02/26/donald-trumps-oil-embargo-reveals-a-solar-boom-in-cuba
Here is a quote from the article:
Yet things are not as bad as they might be, and not only because the island meets 40% of its fuel needs with its own heavy, sulphurous crude. Mr Trump is obsessed with oil, but Cuba has been building out an alternative source of energy supply at record pace: solar panels imported from China. According to Chinese export data compiled by Ember, a think-tank, in the 12 months to April 2025 Cuba’s imports of Chinese solar panels grew by a factor of 34, faster than anywhere else in the world. The island has gone from having almost no solar power a few years ago to levels which help it cope with Mr Trump’s embargo.
One aspect of solar and wind energy I emphasize is its value in national security. It works for all countries, including the United States.
I lived through the oil embargo of 1973. It hurt. I was 250 miles from home on a road trip in my college years and a gas station owner told me he would only sell me two dollars worth of gas, about a quarter tank. I drove the 55 mph speed limit for the several years it was national policy, and 12 states had set their maximum speed limit at 50 mph.
Today’s solar and wind technologies have their roots in the Energy Crisis when national security was a goal of non-fossil fuel generation and energy conservation wherever it could be implemented.