Pinar del Río: Third Solar Park of 21.8 Megawatts Under Construction

In the Puerta de Golpe community, in the municipality of Consolación del Sur, workers from the Construction and Assembly Company and the Pinar del Río Electrical Company are building the province's third photovoltaic solar park, with a capacity of 21.8 megawatts (MW).

More than 200 workers are currently involved in assembling the mounting structures and panels in sector B—the most advanced—while in sector A they are carrying out earthworks, explained engineer Raúl Jesús Soroa Morejón, the park's construction manager, to the Cuban News Agency.

The site will have 42,588 solar panels, similar to others of its type in the country, covers 32 hectares, and is located on land previously used for livestock, requiring the filling of three artificial lagoons, he noted.

The project is overall about 30% complete. "After working on the previous parks, we have more experience to move quickly in placing an implement, in trenching, or in other activities, depending on the availability of resources," detailed Soroa Morejón.

"This was land mostly covered by marabú and other shrubs. In May, we began the earthmoving, clearing, and leveling of the terrain," stated Ernesto Manuel González, in charge of the energy aspect for the Construction and Assembly Company.

Four brigades from that entity have been installing the mounting structures since December, while simultaneously conducting earthmoving and compaction work in the remaining areas of sector A yet to be prepared.

"There are still parts we have to fill and level; it's very hard terrain, and the mounting structures have to be as level as possible," he added.

Last year's rains complicated the earthmoving tasks and affected the progress of the work. "We have support from the Forestry service regarding bulldozers," he noted.

These parks must be located within eight kilometers of the nearest electrical substation, in this case, the Pinar Oeste substation.

As part of the national strategy until 2030 to reduce dependence on fossil fuels, two solar parks with equal generation capacity were synchronized with the National Electric System last year in Vueltabajo: one in the La Barbarita area in Consolación del Sur, and the other in La Lucila in the provincial capital municipality.

Additionally, a five-megawatt facility is located in La Ceniza, Pinar del Río, associated with a Chinese donation.