Cuba is striving to develop wind power and contribute to its expansion in the rest of the Caribbean, said energy specialist Conrado Moreno, organizer of a world conference on this energy source to be held for the first time ever in Latin America. Moreno told Tierramérica that the island nation has already built four wind parks with a total combined capacity of 11.7 megawatts, and plans to build another eight by 2020, raising the country’s total wind power output to 80 megawatts.

The 12th World Wind Energy Conference and Renewable Energy Exhibition, to be held in Havana on Jun. 3-5, 2013, is a prime opportunity for the Caribbean region “to show its advances and plans for the future,” which are particularly important given its high degree of dependence on oil imports, added Moreno.