Blaming renewables for blackout is 'simplistic', energy experts warn

Engineers specializing in electrical energy are calling for increased investment in Spain's power transmission network after a blackout plunged the entire Iberian peninsula into darkness.

According to grid operator Red Eléctrica de España (REE), the disruption appears to have originated from a technical issue linked to a mass shutdown of solar power plants.

However, experts consulted by the Catalan News Agency (ACN) warn that blaming renewable energy is "simplistic" and argue the root problem is a "complete lack" of planning in the energy system.

"With greater storage capacity, we could have handled the shock better," one expert noted. They stress that new solutions are already being studied to prevent future disruptions of this scale.

Unprecedented blackout

The unprecedented blackout occurred at 12:33 pm on Monday. As Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has explained, 15GW of electricity – around 60% of total demand at the time – vanished in just five seconds.

A system collapse on this scale had "never happened before" and authorities have launched several investigations to determine its cause.

The grid began stabilizing on Monday evening after 5pm, and electricity consumption had surged significantly by midnight, although full recovery didn't come until Tuesday morning at 7:15am.

"The system only works if supply and demand remain in constant balance; once that balance is lost, it crashes," explained Lluís Pinós, head of the energy commission at the Catalan Association of Industrial Engineers. He warned against jumping to conclusions, saying speculation only adds to the confusion.

"The problem with renewables is that they lack that built-in physical stability," that other forms of electricity generation can provide, said Daniel Montesinos, a professor at the Polytechnic University of Catalonia (UPC). Still, Montesinos insisted that blaming renewables is "simplistic."

Pere Guerra, vice president of the energy commission at small-business group Pimec adds: "They’re a great energy source, if complemented with other systems."

"This wasn't an unpredictable event," Montesinos explained. "It's a known risk being studied by research centers around the world. But it has never been tested at large scale, so we didn't know how it would play out."

According to Montesinos, possible solutions include enabling renewables to behave more like large synchronous generators, such as nuclear or thermal plants, and dividing the national grid into smaller sections to prevent such widespread outages.

Power grid must be strengthened

Montesinos also argued that Spain's international electricity connections must be improved.

"The Iberian grid is connected to France and Morocco but those links are limited. These oscillations may have pushed the system beyond its frequency threshold, causing disconnection from the French grid and triggering shutdowns of solar plants in the southwest," he said.

Guerra agreed, saying: "Our interconnections with the broader European grid are minimal. We're well-connected to Portugal, but we lack the necessary links to the rest of Europe."

He blamed this on resistance to building new high-voltage lines and obstacles to renewable development.

He also said that both public and private sector responses must be scrutinized.

Cyberattack ruled out

Experts ruled out a cyberattack due to how quickly the grid recovered. They also noted that if the grid had been physically damaged, recovery would have taken months.

"Given how quickly the system bounced back, a cyberattack or sabotage is unlikely," said Montesinos.

Electric engineers want to use the incident as a opportunity to learn.

"Zero risk doesn’t exist," they warn. "Technology is not infallible." The idea that the power grid is unbreakable "has never been true." The more complex the system becomes, the greater the risks.

"It’s like driving: a car going 120 km/h carries more risk than one going 90," said Montesinos.

He explained that allowing the frequency to drop too far without triggering emergency shutdowns could cause worse problems, like overheated lines or burned-out equipment.

Growing dependence

Experts say one major lesson from this blackout is just how dependent modern society has become on electricity. "Something we hadn’t imagined happening, and hadn't experienced in a long time, just happened," said Pinós.

"It revealed not just our vulnerability, but our level of dependence. Without electricity, we're incapable of doing anything."