The Physics Behind the Spanish Blackout – WSJ

Spain has been forcing its grid to rely more on unstable renewables. The country has pursued an aggressive green policy, including a commitment it adopted in 2021 to achieve net zero emissions by 2050. The share of solar and wind as a source of Spain s electricity production went from less than 23% in 2015 to more than 43% last year. The government wants its total share of renewables to hit 81% in the next five years even as it s phasing out nuclear generation.

Just a week prior to the blackout, Spain bragged that for the first time, renewables delivered 100% of its electricity, though only for a period of minutes around 11:15 a.m. When it collapsed, the Iberian grid was powered by 74% renewable energy, with 55% coming from solar. It went down under the bright noon sun. When the Iberian grid frequency started faltering on April 28, the grid s high proportion of solar and wind generation couldn t stabilize it. This isn t speculation; it s physics. As the electricity supply across Spain collapsed, Portugal was pulled along, because the two countries are tightly interconnected through the Iberian electricity network.

Madrid had been warned. The parent company of Spain s grid operator admitted in February: The high penetration of renewable generation without the necessary technical capabilities in place to keep them operating properly in the event of a disturbance . . . can cause power generation outages, which could be severe.

Yet the Spanish government is still in denial. Even while admitting that he didn t know the April blackout s cause, Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez insisted that there was no empirical evidence that renewables were to blame and that Spain is not going to deviate a single millimeter from its green energy ambitions.

Unless the country and its neighbors are comfortable with an increased risk of blackouts, this will require expensive upgrades. A new Reuters report written with an eye to the Iberian blackout finds that for Europe as a whole this would cost trillions of dollars in infrastructure updates. It s possible that European politicians can talk voters into eating that cost. It ll be impossible for India or nations in Africa to follow suit.

via www.wsj.com

Bjorn Lomborg.