Cuba upgrades oldest hydroelectric plant with Chinese technology

Cuba was renovating its oldest hydroelectric plant with Chinese parts and technology, local media said Sunday.

The Salto Piloto Plant would be upgraded with two 270 kilowatts (KW) turbines manufactured in China, and it would become the biggest producer in Cuba's western Pinar del Rio province by generating more than 2 gigawatts (GW) of electricity a year, Havana's Radio Reloj said.

Located between the reservoirs of El Salto and Hondo and close to the town of Pilotos, the century-old plant was built to supply power to the city of Pinar del Rio, some 150 km west of Havana.

The westernmost Pinar del Rio province has 10 hydroelectric plants that are part of the government's push to generate renewable energy in order to protect the environment.

Expert Mario Alberto Arrastia said the island country, which currently owns 180 hydroelectric plants to produce some 65 megawatts of electricity a day, has the potential to produce 10 times more.