Interview: Spain must upgrade power grid to match renewable energy shift, expert warns
BARCELONA, Spain, May 20 (Xinhua) -- Spain must adapt its electrical grid to reflect the country's evolving energy landscape or risk more large-scale blackouts, Jordi Sole, an energy expert and professor at the University of Barcelona, told Xinhua in an interview on Tuesday.
His warning comes ahead of a Senate vote on Wednesday that could urge the government to launch an independent investigation into the nationwide blackout that affected the country on 28 April. Sole said the root cause of the blackout is the lack of flexibility and stability in Spain's electrical system.
"The grid has not been adapted to the new reality," Sole said. "The system is unstable and not flexible enough to respond quickly to oscillations in market supply and demand. It lacks the stabilization mechanisms needed to adapt to these fluctuations," he said.
Spain has made significant progress in its energy transition, with renewable energy accounting for 56 percent of electricity generation in 2024, according to Red Electrica, the national grid operator.
Sole said this transformation has outpaced the modernization of infrastructure. He argued that "not enough has been done to adapt the electrical network to this new energy mix."
"The systemic problem of the electrical grid is that Spain's network is designed for an energy system that we are making a transition away from. It's a system based on fossil fuels and centralized energy sources that can provide power on demand," Sole added.
The unprecedented blackout, described in the industry as a "zero energy" event, is still under investigation. On 14 May, Spain's Minister for Ecological Transition Sara Aagesen told Parliament that initial findings indicated three successive outages in the southwest triggered a cascade effect that ultimately caused the collapse of the national grid.
According to Sole, another vulnerability is Spain's limited interconnection with the broader European grid, as the "lack of interconnection of the peninsular network with the rest of the continent" remains evident.
He cited the International Energy Agency (IEA), which has repeatedly urged European governments to double investment in energy grids. "The investment at both the European and Spanish levels currently accounts for 0.36 percent of GDP. However, the IEA suggests that the rate should be 0.6 percent, which is double the current rate -it hasn't been done because it's expensive," he said.
Sole also highlighted the role of private energy firms in the debate. "These companies, which earn millions from the business of electrical energy, should make some contribution to the grid," he said, calling out their reluctance to contribute and reduce their profits.
He concluded by calling for a more holistic energy strategy that prepares the grid for a renewable-driven future. "This requires a new vision of energy consumption, one that considers environmental impacts, social and energy justice, and energy poverty," Sole said.
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