A massive power outage recently plunged large parts of Spain and Portugal into darkness, disrupting electricity supplies in major cities including Madrid, Barcelona, and Lisbon.
Source: Economic Daily
A massive power outage recently plunged large parts of Spain and Portugal into darkness, disrupting electricity supplies in major cities including Madrid, Barcelona, and Lisbon. The blackout also affected parts of southern France, with around 60 million people impacted. The widespread disruption brought traffic to a standstill, severed communication networks, and forced many hospitals to switch to backup generators to remain operational. It was one of the worst blackouts in Europe in the past two decades—highlighting critical vulnerabilities in the region’s energy system amid the rapid shift toward renewables.
Preliminary findings from Spanish grid operator Red Eléctrica de España (REE) suggest the outage was triggered by a sudden and significant drop in electricity supply. While the exact cause remains under investigation, cyberattacks and extreme weather have been ruled out for now. Notably, the blackout occurred just six days after Spain celebrated its first-ever weekday powered entirely by renewable energy, prompting renewed scrutiny of the reliability and stability of Europe’s green energy transition.
In recent years, both Spain and Portugal have pushed aggressively to decarbonize their energy systems. In 2024, over 56% of their electricity was generated from renewable sources such as wind, solar, and hydro. Including nuclear energy, clean sources accounted for around 82% of total electricity generation. This high share of renewables has made the Iberian Peninsula a frontrunner in Europe’s clean energy race—but also introduced new challenges in maintaining grid stability.
Renewables like wind and solar are inherently intermittent and lack the inertia provided by traditional coal and gas power plants. Unlike conventional generators, which use large rotating turbines that help stabilize grid frequency, wind farms and solar inverters contribute little to system inertia. This makes the grid more vulnerable to fluctuations. Spain’s energy system also suffers from limited energy storage and reserve capacity. Pumped hydro and battery storage account for only about 2.65% of installed capacity, leaving little room to buffer against sudden shifts in renewable output.
The blackout has also highlighted a longstanding weakness in Europe’s electricity interconnection infrastructure. Spain and Portugal’s grids are closely linked to each other but remain poorly connected to the rest of Europe due to the natural barrier of the Pyrenees. Currently, there are only a few transmission lines connecting the Iberian grid with neighboring France, with a total interconnection capacity of just 3,977 megawatts—about 3% of Spain’s installed capacity. That falls far short of the EU’s 2030 target of 15% under its energy and climate policy. In effect, the Iberian Peninsula operates as an “energy island”: largely self-sufficient under normal conditions, but poorly positioned to receive external support during crises.
When the Spain–France interconnector failed during the recent blackout, the Iberian grid was instantly cut off from the rest of the European network, losing access to vital external power. Once internal balance was lost, the isolated grid had to absorb the shock on its own—making a cascading failure far more likely.
The incident underscores the structural risks embedded in Europe’s ongoing energy transition. Power systems across the continent are undergoing the most sweeping transformation in a century—shifting from centralized, controllable fossil fuel plants to decentralized, weather-dependent renewables. While cleaner and more sustainable, this transition presents serious reliability challenges during the interim period.
At the same time, EU climate targets are putting the energy system under additional pressure. The bloc recently raised its 2030 legally binding target for the share of renewables in final energy consumption from 32% to at least 42.5%. That means Europe will need to dramatically scale up wind and solar capacity in the coming years. Without corresponding upgrades to grid infrastructure, storage systems, and market coordination, this rapid transformation could embed long-term systemic risks.
Energy experts have called the Iberian blackout a stress test for high-renewables power systems—a reminder that climate ambitions must be balanced with energy security. Europe’s clean energy transition will only be successful if grid modernization, storage deployment, and cross-border energy integration move forward in tandem. Only then can the continent avoid future disruptions and deliver on the promise of a secure and sustainable energy future.
Reproduced article do not represent the position of New Energy Era.