Cuban project promotes energy matrix change

SANTA CLARA, Cuba, April 28 (ACN) Cuba's energy transition has found a key ally in the central province of Villa Clara with the Alemanes Express project.

This initiative, which began eight years ago as a self-employment venture, evolved into a local development project and is now a consolidated micro, small, and medium-sized enterprise (MSME) integrated into the government's priority tasks related to renewable energy and community well-being.

Jose Angel Gonzalez Aleman, leader of Alemanes Express, told the Cuban News Agency that the company has transformed due to the demand for importing and selling its products, leading to its redefinition as a local development project to diversify its product range.

According to Armando Hernandez Pedroso, director of the National Office for the Control of the Rational Use of Energy in this central region, the core business of this economic actor is the sale of household appliances, but a month ago it joined the country's efforts to promote the energy transition by acquiring photovoltaic equipment.

At their headquarters, 30 kilowatts of solar panels are already operating off-grid, and the facility also includes an organic garden and a cafeteria for employees.

As an example of their impact, he mentioned that they contributed 10 streetlights along the stretch from the Marta Abreu Polyclinic to the Circunvalacion (ring road), and another 10 in the Jose Marti neighborhood. Gonzalez Aleman noted that they are also working on installing 3, 6, and 10-kilowatt photovoltaic kits, offering solar pumping—a key solution for accessing water given current problems—and developing photovoltaic lighting.

The project has 10 electric tricycles that operate free of charge for transportation and is incubated at the Santa Clara Science and Technology Park, which has allowed them to improve their business management and expand their marketing both nationally and internationally to become a high-production, high-demand company, he pointed out.

Among the most socially impactful actions, he said, significant donations have been made. Two months ago, the fully restored kidney transplant ward at the Arnaldo Milian Castro Provincial Clinical Surgical Hospital was reopened, and today they are involved in the rehabilitation of the Ernesto Che Guevara school and the senior citizens' home of the Manuelita Family Care System, in addition to having three other community projects planned.

He also announced that they are working on the creation of an ecological park in the Brisas del Oeste area, a currently degraded area that will be transformed into an environmental space to eliminate a small illegal dump and revitalize the community's appearance.

The project also collaborates with the government on initiatives such as the complete lighting project for Guantanamo and the development of renewable energy studies in that province.

With three retail locations and a staff of 18 to 20 employees, Alemanes Express demonstrates that collaboration between economic actors, government, and the community can generate concrete solutions for the energy transition and local development.