Last month’s Iberian Peninsula blackout affecting Spain, Portugal, and parts of France can be attributed to grid operator Red Eléctrica (REE) being primarily powered by solar and wind energy.
Ahead of the April 28th blackout, Spain’s electric grid was running primarily on solar (60.64%) and wind (12%) power.
A few weeks before, on April 16th, REE reported that wind and solar, alongside smaller quantities of hydroelectric, solar thermal, and renewable waste, fully met electricity demand for the first time in Spain’s history. PV Magazine added, “At 11:15 a.m. that day on April 16, wind and PV combined to generate 100.63% of total demand…” Five days later, on April 21, REE claims solar alone generated “20,120 MW of instantaneous power– covering 78.6% of demand and 61.5% of the grid mix.”
As a result, Bloomberg opinion columnist Javier Blas, who focuses on energy issues, declared this is “the first big blackout of the green electricity era.”
Unsurprisingly, Spanish officials deny that renewables caused the blackout that left millions without power for hours. REE President Beatriz Corredor stated: “Relating Monday’s [April 28th] serious incident to the spike in renewables is not correct.”
The New York Times, however, said Spain’s renewable energy push left it vulnerable to blackouts. The Wall Street Journal added that the blackout was attributed to the loss of inertia when solar plants go offline and have a low output:
One of those is the loss of so-called inertia. Conventional power generation turbines take a while to stop spinning, buying time to balance electricity supply and demand if something goes wrong. If a solar plant goes offline, output goes to zero instantly.
With less inertia, “imbalances must be corrected more quickly,” said David Brayshaw, professor of climate science and energy meteorology at the University of Reading in the United Kingdom. “Outage events, when they occur, are likely to become more significant and widespread,” he added.
The timing of this blackout comes as the Spanish government intends to close seven nuclear reactors within a decade. Nuclear is the most reliable electricity source available, working 93% of the year with limited to no interruptions.
Like other European Union (EU) members, Spain has pledged support for the European Green Deal, requiring the continent to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050 and have a fully renewable electric grid by this timeframe.
To prevent another Spanish-style blackout, one analysis suggests the EU grid needs about a trillion dollars to improve its aging power grid and insufficient energy storage capabilities.
On May 5th, the EU announced it’s taking steps to fully wean itself off of Russian oil and gas by 2027. Yet, Spain has steadily increased its reliance on Russian gas imports alongside its net-zero pledge despite this.
In September 2023, it was reported that Spanish gas imports from Russia “soared 65% in July from the same month a year ago” despite importing 14% less gas. Last year, the European Parliament revealed that Spain imported the most “liquefied natural gas from Russia” of any European nation.
Here in the U.S., power outages have become more frequent—93% more likely—as more solar and wind are integrated into the electric grid.
The Iberian Peninsula power outages might be the first green electricity blackout of its kind, but it sadly won’t be the last. Relying on intermittent power, instead of reliable sources like natural gas and nuclear, could invite more incidents of this magnitude.