{"id":666914,"date":"2025-05-04T04:40:17","date_gmt":"2025-05-04T01:40:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/iberian-blackout-hints-at-green-energy-growing-pains-not-climate-failure\/"},"modified":"2025-05-04T04:40:17","modified_gmt":"2025-05-04T01:40:17","slug":"iberian-blackout-hints-at-green-energy-growing-pains-not-climate-failure","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/iberian-blackout-hints-at-green-energy-growing-pains-not-climate-failure\/","title":{"rendered":"Iberian blackout hints at green energy growing pains \u2014 not climate failure"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_85 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a3db88b37ace\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a3db88b37ace\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/iberian-blackout-hints-at-green-energy-growing-pains-not-climate-failure\/#Outpacing_the_grid\" >Outpacing the grid?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/iberian-blackout-hints-at-green-energy-growing-pains-not-climate-failure\/#%E2%80%98Starved_of_flexibility\" >\u2018Starved of flexibility\u2019<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/iberian-blackout-hints-at-green-energy-growing-pains-not-climate-failure\/#Electrification_conundrum\" >Electrification conundrum<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/img-cdn.tnwcdn.com\/image?fit=796%2C417&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn0.tnwcdn.com%2Fwp-content%2Fblogs.dir%2F1%2Ffiles%2F2025%2F05%2Fportugal-spain-blackout-renewable-energy.jpg&amp;signature=896d7e26aa8510856be8eeb4b4556fc5\" \/><\/p>\n<div id=\"article-main-content\">\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Spain and Portugal have largely restored power after Monday\u2019s unprecedented blackout \u2014 the worst in recent European history.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The fallout has put the region\u2019s reliance on renewables <\/span><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.telegraph.co.uk\/business\/2025\/04\/28\/blackout-risk-made-worse-by-net-zero\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">under<\/span><\/a> <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=tT5kiBctUf4\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">fire<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. <span>Santiago Abascal, leader of Spain\u2019s far-right Vox party, even called on the country to abandon \u201cclimate fanaticism\u201d in response to the power cut.<\/span> <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Yet, experts stressed to TNW that the problem isn\u2019t green energy, but the outdated grid infrastructure and <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/technology\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"4\" title=\"Technology\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">technology<\/a> it relies upon.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cWhat\u2019s h<a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">app<\/a>ened this week should serve as a stark reminder of the dangers of failing to invest in a more resilient energy grid,\u201d Amsterdam-based Taco Engelaar, managing director at energy infrastructure firm Neara, told TNW.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Last year, Portugal and Spain sourced, respectively, <\/span><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/ec.europa.eu\/eurostat\/en\/web\/products-eurostat-news\/w\/ddn-20250319-1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">87.5%<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and <\/span><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ree.es\/en\/press-office\/press-release\/news\/press-release\/2025\/01\/renewable-energies-generated-56-per-cent-spains-electricity-mix-2024\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">56%<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> of their electricity from renewables such as wind, solar, and hydropower. The two countries have both, for short periods, run their grids entirely on green energy.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cThe first thing to clarify is that this is not a net-zero issue,\u201d Chris Glover, utilities and energy director at British engineering consultancy Buro Happold, told TNW. \u201cThe issue here is managing supply and demand.\u201d<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"inarticle-wrapper channel-cta\">\n<div class=\"ica-text\">\n<p class=\"ica-text__title\">European tech superstars: Hear from Datasnipper, Hugging Face, Philips &amp; many more<\/p>\n<p>Join 1000s of founders, investors and innovation champions at TNW Conference on June 19 &amp; 20.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Outpacing_the_grid\"><\/span>Outpacing the grid?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">While wind and solar generate clean, cheap electricity, they don\u2019t produce power in a steady stream \u2014 they rise and fall with the weather. However, grids in Europe were largely built for more predictable sources of energy like coal, gas, or nuclear plants. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Without that stabilising force, or the addition of alternatives like battery storage systems, the grid becomes more vulnerable to surges in electricity demand or supply. As we\u2019ve seen this week, on rare occasions, that can overwhelm the system, causing it to crash, taking homes, businesses, and critical services offline.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The growing mismatch between the grid\u2019s design and its new energy mix is now playing out. As the Iberian nations have surged ahead in the race to adopt renewables, they may have become victims of their own momentum.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But that\u2019s no reason to hit the brakes on the energy transition, said Glover. Instead, he suggests they double down on energy storage, grid balancing tech, and infrastructure upgrades to support a more resilient system.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"%E2%80%98Starved_of_flexibility\"><\/span>\u2018Starved of flexibility\u2019<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Spain and Portugal are not the first to face this challenge. A major blackout in 2016 left 850,000 South Australians without power. Critics, including Australia\u2019s prime minister Malcolm Turnbull, <\/span><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/australia-news\/2016\/sep\/29\/jay-weatherill-accuses-barnaby-joyce-of-pushing-anti-windfarm-agenda-over-blackouts\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">pointed<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> to the state\u2019s ambitious shift to renewables. But rather than retreat, South Australia leaned in, investing in big batteries, so-called synchronous compressors (which mimic the stabilising \u201cinertia\u201d of fossil fuel-powered turbines), and even more wind and solar. Last year, the state sourced 75% of its electricity from renewables and hasn\u2019t had another blackout since. The IEA has called its progress \u201cremarkable.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Alex Schoch, head of flexibility at Octopus Energy, believes Spain could take a cue from South Australia\u2019s success. While the latter\u2019s blackout was caused by a storm, \u201cboth countries\u2019 grids lacked the proper tools to recover from sudden shocks,\u201d he wrote on <\/span><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/feed\/update\/urn:li:activity:7323095696331468801\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">LinkedIn.<\/span><\/a> He <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">called Spain\u2019s power system one \u201cstarved of flexibility.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Before the blackout, Spain\u2019s grid was running on nearly 80% wind and solar \u2014 a huge achievement for clean energy, but also a challenge for stability. There was very little electricity coming from steady sources like gas or nuclear, which help keep the grid balanced. On top of that, Spain has almost no large-scale battery storage to step in when solar or wind drops unexpectedly.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Experts <\/span><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ft.com\/content\/e6e1fe13-36f7-4fe5-84ba-77717dca68a8\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">believe<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> these factors played a key role in Monday\u2019s sweeping blackout. The disruption has been traced back to two separate grid disconnections in the southwest of the country \u2014 the heart of Spain\u2019s solar energy production. With so little backup power in place, the system may have struggled to respond to these disruptions fast enough, leading to cascading failures across the network.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">When part of Spain\u2019s power supply suddenly dropped, the grid should have quickly reduced demand to keep everything in balance \u2014 for example, by using batteries or other backup systems to smooth things out, Glover explained. \u201cNo such steps appear to have been taken,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">When power generation drops, countries can often import electricity from neighbours. However, Spain and Portugal are mostly cut off, with just a weak link to France through the Pyrenees mountains. That makes them more vulnerable during outages.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Although the exact cause of the blackout is still under investigation, the disruption \u2014 which saw Spain\u2019s grid lose 15GW of energy in just five seconds \u2014 has raised serious doubts about the region\u2019s energy infrastructure. It could also serve as a stark warning for other countries.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Electrification_conundrum\"><\/span>Electrification conundrum<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As more electric vehicles plug in, heat pumps replace gas boilers, and factories switch to electric power, Europe\u2019s ageing grids are increasingly feeling the strain. Between 2020 and 2050, electricity demand is set to jump 80%. Yet much of the infrastructure carrying that load was built decades ago. To meet climate targets, annual global grid investment needs to nearly double to $600bn by 2030, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA).\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Engelaar believes new technologies could help. \u201cD<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">igital modelling can give [energy] utilities granular insights into every inch of their networks, as well as allowing them to stress-test their assets against potential threats and pinpoint vulnerabilities before it\u2019s too late.\u201d Another software solution is demand response, which automatically adjusts electricity use in real time.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Jacob Bro, partner at climate tech VC firm 2150, also highlights the power of decentralised energy solutions. These include rooftop panels, home batteries, and local wind farms, which generate electricity closer to where it\u2019s used.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cCloser to our homes and offices, at the edge of the grid, we need to deploy flexible capacity, and we need smarter grids and greater transparency,\u201d he told TNW.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Overall, what emerges is a complex picture of rapid progress outpacing preparation. The blackout wasn\u2019t a failure of renewables \u2014 it was a failure to keep up with them. If Europe wants a cleaner future, its grids need to catch up fast.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cInvesting in net-zero infrastructure is a core part of the solution, not the problem,\u201d said Glover.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMN63nwsw68G3Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more like this article, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/category\/technology\/\" target=\"_blank\" >Technology category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/thenextweb.com\/news\/spain-portugal-blackout-hints-at-green-energy-growing-pains\" target=\"_blank\" >Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Spain and Portugal have largely restored power after Monday\u2019s unprecedented blackout \u2014 the worst in recent European history. The fallout has put the region\u2019s reliance on renewables under fire. Santiago Abascal, leader of Spain\u2019s far-right Vox party, even called on the country to abandon \u201cclimate fanaticism\u201d in response to the power cut. Yet, experts stressed&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":666915,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/img-cdn.tnwcdn.com\/image\/tnw-blurple?filter_last=1&fit=1280%2C640&url=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn0.tnwcdn.com%2Fwp-content%2Fblogs.dir%2F1%2Ffiles%2F2025%2F05%2Fportugal-spain-blackout-renewable-energy.jpg&signature=92bfa8cffae367d2a8d1d178cd1c5a8a","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-666914","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/666914","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=666914"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/666914\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/666915"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=666914"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=666914"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=666914"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}