Sherritt’s Cuban power business operates through a one-third interest in Energas S.A. The remaining two-thirds interest is held equally by two Cuban agencies: Union CubaPetroleo (CUPET) and Unión Eléctrica (UNE). Energas’ electrical generating capacity is 506 MW.
The processing of raw natural gas produces clean natural gas, used to generate electricity as well as by-products such as condensate and liquefied petroleum gas. The Energas facilities, which comprise the two combined cycle plants at Varadero (three gas turbines and one steam turbine) and Boca de Jaruco (five gas turbines and one steam turbine), produce electricity using steam generated from the waste heat captured from the gas turbines.
In 2007, the combined cycle unit at the Varadero facility was granted Clean Development Mechanism status under the provisions of the Kyoto Protocol by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. We have since built another combined cycle unit at a different facility in Cuba that is eligible for this designation. Not only does this investment provide the Cuban grid with much-needed energy for the Cuban people, but it has also generated over 630,000 carbon credits and reduced the carbon footprint of energy generation within Cuba.