Cuba's First Secretary of the Communist Party Central Committee and President Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez met on Tuesday with experts and scientists to review renewable energy innovation projects. Moderated by Deputy Prime Minister Eduardo Martínez Díaz, the meeting highlighted biogas and biomass initiatives from the National Group of Universities for Renewable Energy Sources and Energy Efficiency (GNUFRE). Díaz-Canel stressed the urgent need to integrate these solutions, prioritizing energy and food.
Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez chaired a Tuesday afternoon meeting with energy transition experts. Attendees included Deputy Prime Ministers Inés María Chapman Waugh and Eduardo Martínez Díaz, along with heads of Minem (Vicente La O Levy), MES (Walter Baluja García), and CITMA (Armando Rodríguez Batista), plus university directors via videoconference.
The GNUFRE, established in 2019 following the 2014 Policy for Prospective Development of Renewable Energy Sources until 2030, unites all higher education institutions with energy capabilities. It stemmed from a government commission and involves universities such as those in Sancti Spíritus, Villa Clara, Havana, and CUJAE, later expanded to Oriente, Cienfuegos, and Matanzas.
Dr. Manuel Alejandro Rubio Rodríguez, GNUFRE coordinator and professor at Marta Abreu Central University of Las Villas, presented projects including the Martí for vehicle biomethane, Managuaco for domestic biogas from livestock waste, La Pastora for wastewater treatment, and recovery of the Heriberto Duquesne sugar mill biodigester. He also proposed value chains for forest biomass and a new model for the sugar industry to produce electricity, fuels, and animal feed.
After nearly an hour of debate, Díaz-Canel highlighted existing expertise and called for greater integration. 'Today the two priorities are food and energy, and they are intimately related,' he stated, urging quick use of all renewable sources.
