HAVANA, Cuba, June 9 (ACN)—While polluting emissions increasingly contaminate the world environment, Cuba promotes the rational use of energy and environmental protection as part of its power generation process.
Although the Caribbean island is boosting the use of renewable energy sources, 96 percent of its electricity production is based on fossil fuels. The electricity sector is therefore following up on indications stemming from a strategy drawn up eight years ago, which launched an energy saving program known here as the Energy Revolution, PL news reported.
The indications, aimed at increasing the local power generation capacity, production efficiency, and at lowering energy losses, allow producing electricity with 25 percent more efficiency, reads an article posted on Cubadebate website.
With this in mind, over 700 thousand improving actions have benefited power distribution networks, more than 20 million inefficient electrical appliances and equipment were replaced with others that considerably save energy (electric cookers, water heaters, fridges, fans and bulbs).
These measures along with the increasing use of renewable energy sources contributed to reduce polluting emissions by 20 percent last year, with respect to 1990, while at the world level such emissions increased 40 percent if compared to 2011.
The article explains that renewable energy sources such as wind and water alone allowed saving 31,150 tons of fuel last year and thus prevented the emission of over 100 000 tons
of Carbon Dioxide.
This adds the environment-friendly production of electricity fueled with oil-accompanying gas, in the localities of Varadero, Matanzas province, and Jaruco, east of Havana. The oil-accompanying gas used to escape to the atmosphere, while it has now become a valuable source of energy.
The article also underscores that the use of renewable energy sources cannot be postponed in Cuba, since it is a factor favoring economic development and the environment, and whose importance needs to be promoted through environmental education and a change in patterns of social behavior.