Why Spain's net zero push may be behind the mass blackouts that sparked a state of emergency and led to transport chaos, panic-buying

Sky News AU

29-04-2025

Spain's Interior Ministry declared a state of emergency after a massive power outage hit Spain and Portugal on Monday, knocking out traffic lights and forcing the evacuation of subway systems in both countries, among other disruptions.
About half of Spain has seen power restored, while full restoration is expected to occur sometime Tuesday.
While the cause of the outages is not yet known, experts told the UK's The Daily Telegraph that both countries' increasing reliance on wind and solar had left them vulnerable to blackouts.
Turbines running on gas, coal and hydropower create inertia through the spinning parts in their generators.
Solar generators do not have spinning parts.
"In a low-inertia environment the frequency can change much faster," Energy analyst Kathryn Porter said.
"If you have had a significant grid fault in one area, or a cyber attack, or whatever it may be, the grid operators therefore have less time to react."
Former British grid operator Duncan Burt said a "high solar day" risks making the grid less stable "unless you've taken actions to mitigate that".
Spain's grid relies heavily on solar, which was providing roughly 53 per cent of the country's electricity as of noon on Monday.
A graph on Spain's electricity network website that shows power demand across the country indicated a steep drop at around 12:15 p.m. local time, from 27,500 megawatts to near 15,000, according to the Associated Press.
"Due to extreme temperature variations in the interior of Spain, there were anomalous oscillations in the very high-voltage lines, a phenomenon known as induced atmospheric vibration," REN, Portugal's grid operator, was quoted as saying.
"These oscillations caused synchronization failures between the electrical systems, leading to successive disturbances across the interconnected European network."
REN reportedly described the incident as a "rare atmospheric phenomenon." The Portuguese National Cybersecurity Center issued a statement saying there was no sign the outage was due to a cyberattack.
Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez later said a problem in the European grid that he described as a "strong oscillation" was behind the outage, but that the cause was still being determined. Spanish power distributor Red Eléctrica said that restoring power fully to the country and neighboring Portugal could take 6-10 hours.
"Red Eléctrica is working to determine the cause of this power outage and resolve the problem as soon as possible," the Prime Minister said in a post on X. "Spain has mechanisms to deal with these types of situations. Once again, I appeal to the public to cooperate with all authorities and act responsibly and civilly, as we have always done."
By 10:30 p.m. local time, Red Eléctrica had reported that over 48% of the demand had been recovered and 66% of the substation parks in the network were energized.
Video that aired on Spanish television showed people evacuating metro stations in Madrid, and empty stations with trains stopped in Barcelona. Spain's parliament also was left in the dark, public broadcaster RTVE reported.
The ATP Tour said play at the Madrid Open tennis tournament was suspended for the day due to the power outage.
In Portugal, several Lisbon subway cars were evacuated, courts stopped work and ATMs and electronic payment systems were affected.
Traffic lights in Lisbon also stopped working.
Portugal's Prime Minister Luis Montenegro said on X that authorities were working together to respond to the electrical outage affecting the country.
"We are in constant contact with security forces, civil protection, the armed forces, hospitals, fuel supply companies, to ensure responsiveness in essential infrastructures and support for those who need it," he said in a translated post.
"We are also in contact with European institutions and partners. No time to waste! Our thanks to all who are focused on these priority tasks."
Spanish airports were operating on backup electrical systems and some flights were delayed, according to Aena, the company that runs 56 airports in Spain, including Madrid and Barcelona.
Lisbon Airport said on its website that "A general power cut may cause operation constraints" and urged travelers to "Contact your airline before heading to the airport."
Both the Portuguese and Spanish governments convened emergency cabinet meetings to address the situation, according to Reuters. Residents in both countries told Sky News that they have observed people panic buying water and other supplies inside supermarkets.
Eduardo Prieto, head of operations at Red Eléctrica, told journalists it was unprecedented, calling the event "exceptional and extraordinary."
"Voltage has now been restored at substations in several areas of the north, south, and west of the Iberian Peninsula," Red Eléctrica wrote on X. "This process involves the gradual energization of the transmission grid as the generating units are connected."
"Power is now available in parts of Catalonia, Aragon, the Basque Country, Galicia, La Rioja, Asturias, Navarre, Castile and León, Extremadura, and Andalusia," it continued.
"In addition to the areas where power has already begun to be restored, others have been added in Madrid, the Valencian Community, Murcia, and Castilla-La Mancha."
"The causes are being analyzed, and all resources are being dedicated to addressing the issue," Red Eléctrica also said.
The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.
Originally published as Why Spain, Portugal's net zero push may be behind the mass blackouts that sparked a state of emergency, transport chaos and panic-buying