Date: Wednesday, 3 August 2016
Time: London 15.00 ,GMT +1
Webinar
On Wednesday 3 August at 15.00, The Caribbean Council held an interactive webinar about the process of discovery, and dug down into the state of the Cuban energy sector and the role for foreign investment.
Over the last decade, the Cuba government’s Revolución Energética has drastically reduced fossil fuel usage and carbon emissions through energy efficiency measures. The revolution’s grassroots approach focused attention on cutting energy use at the household level and did so with impressive results – between 2006 and 2008 alone, the initiative replaced over 3.5 million household appliances and 94 million incandescent light bulbs.
While the revolution made notable strides in some areas, it largely overlooked opportunities for renewable energy. As of 2015, renewables accounted for just 4% of Cuba’s energy and the country remains dependent on imports from PetroCaribe.
Last year, however, the Cuban government put into motion a shift to expand its focus to include greater integration of renewable energy by setting a target for 24% renewable penetration by 2030 and cracking the door to increased foreign investment.
This webinar gave participants the opportunity to hear about this situation from our experts speakers as Chris Bennett, Managing Director, The Caribbean Council; Andrew MacDonald, CEO, Havana Energy; Lee Evans, Senior Policy Advisor, Energy Cuba; Hermenegildo Altozano, Partner, Bird and Bird, among others.
Over the course of the webinar, speakers addressed and responded to the most fundamental topics and questions;
- Where do you start?
- Who do you call first in Cuba and abroad if you want to begin the process of establishing a line into Havana?
- Which are the critical government agencies to get to know?
- What are the most obvious stumbling blocks?
- How committed is the Cuban government to securing foreign investment in the national energy sector?
- How are conditions changing in Cuba and how is the thaw in U.S-Cuba relations impacting, in real time, prospects for investment?
- Are international investors receiving a warm response in Havana?
