[SMM PV news] Hurricane Melissa floods Cuba’s Río Cauto solar park, cuts power supply.

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) says emergency generators, some powered by solar panels, are being deployed as Cuba struggles to restore electricity after the storm. More than 1 million Cubans remained without electricity two weeks after Hurricane Melissa struck the eastern part of the island, damaging solar installations and flooding the 21.8 MW Río Cauto solar park.

The UNDP said it is installing generators in the communities of Guamo Viejo, Grito de Yara, Vado del Yeso and Cauto Embarcadero in Granma province.

The Río Cauto facility is part of a national plan to build 55 solar parks in 2025. Minister of Energy and Mines Vicente de la O Levy said several solar plants in eastern Cuba suffered structural and electrical damage. Although the installations largely withstood the cyclone, “some panels were damaged,” he said, adding that “levels of flooding” forced operators to isolate systems to prevent short circuits.

The UNDP said most of the deployed generators are fuel-powered, though some use 2 kWp standalone PV systems, including one at the university center in Río Cauto. The system is intended “to cover the basic services of the campus – an institution that performs various support functions in emergency situations – and to provide energy access to the surrounding community.”

A similar hybrid system, paired with a fuel-powered generator, was also donated to the University of Granma in Bayamo, said the agency.