During recent decades, energy issues turned worldwide into a fundamental component of the strategic discussions on sustainable development [1, 2]. The world energy demand increases faster than the global population [3]. With about 80 % of the energy obtained from fossil fuels [4], the effects on climate change threaten human security, e.g. by affecting the weather patterns and the economy [5–۷]. Moreover, as fossil fuel reserves are limited, a transition towards a sustainable energy supply is mandatory. A core element of this transition is the use of biomass to generate renewable energy [8]. It is foreseen that renewable energy will play a major role in the rest of the twenty-first century [9] and will be very important to increase energy security [10]. Moreover, biomass based energy is environmentally viable and economically feasible [11] and biomass is the only renewable resource capable of substituting oil, both as fuel and in chemical applications [12, 13]. Currently, biomass covers about 9 % of the world’s primary energy demand [4], and there is potential to further increase the energy production from biomass [14]. However, some biofuels are produced from food crops, which may increase food prices and affect food security [15, 16]. Moreover, the increase of bioenergy crops demands more agricultural land, which is a further threat to the environment [17]. Life cycle analysis studies demonstrate that greenhouse gas emissions reduction realized by using biofuels are currently limited as a result of the high carbon intensity of growing crops and producing the fuel [18]. Although the use of biofuel can potentially reduce the emissions of greenhouse gases compared with fossil fuels [19], other studies point out that several biofuels even show higher environmental impacts than fossil fuels. To address the ‘‘food, energy and environment trilemma’’ [۲۰], alternative biomass sources including crop residues, wood and forest residues, as well as municipal and industrial waste were suggested. These might meet a substantial share of the future energy demand [21]. The current energy consumption in Cuba shows an increasing trend and is expected to rise further in the future [22]. Moreover, the transition to a market economy will likely accelerate and intensify this trend. Historically, the Cuban energy supply strongly depended on imports from abroad [22]. More recently the ‘‘energetic revolution’’ made the country more efficient after implementation of energy management strategies and technological update of devices with small electricity consumption (light bulbs, domestic water pumps, etc.), mainly in residential areas, which account for 56 % of the electricity consumption of the country [22, 23]. Moreover, since it mainly focused on the residential sector, the energetic revolution resulted in a limited impact on the energy efficiency of industry, transport and agriculture [24].