Latest news with #AlbertoNúñezFeijóo
The Guardian
10 hours ago
- Politics
- The Guardian
Tens of thousands protest in Madrid against Pedro Sánchez's government
Tens of thousands of people have gathered in central Madrid to protest against the government of Spain's socialist prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, and to demand an early general election, as his party, his administration and his family continue to be beset by a succession of corruption allegations. The demonstration was led by Alberto Núñez Feijóo, the leader of the conservative Popular party
Yahoo
30-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Spain's PM accused of putting net-zero ideology first after blackout chaos
Spain's Socialist prime minister was accused of putting green ideology ahead of energy security after a massive blackout plunged the country into chaos on Monday. Alberto Núñez Feijóo, leader of the opposition People's Party, said Pedro Sánchez was covering up information about the cause of the power cut and that the prime minister was prioritising green ideology in his energy policy. The prime minister is 'saddling our energy system with a massive ideological burden', Mr Feijóo said on Tuesday. 'What happened? Could it happen again? I'd like to be able to answer those questions but the official information we have at this time is not clear or reliable.' 'It will all come out in the end,' he added in reference to an impending European Commission report on the power cuts. Credit: Reuters | @agusssgtf Red Eléctrica, Spain's public electricity provider, said its preliminary diagnosis showed that Monday's system collapse – which knocked out power across Spain, Portugal and France – was caused by a drop in solar power generation. Earlier this year, it warned of blackouts due to the country's increasing reliance on renewable energy, saying 'generation disconnections' could be 'severe' because of how much the country relies on wind and solar sources. According to the Spanish press, the Popular Party asserted that Mr Sanchez knew about the Red Eléctrica warning and 'ignored it'. The prime minister told Red Eléctrica on Tuesday that 'there was not a problem of excessive renewables [generation] nor of demand being unmet'. Beatriz Corredor, the Socialist head of Red Eléctrica, claimed that Spain has 'the best [electricity] system in Europe', adding that the grid had shown great agility in recovering within 24 hours. Mr Sanchez plans to close Spain's five nuclear energy plants from 2027, and said those claiming nuclear energy would prevent future power cuts were 'either ignorant or liars'. He said the cause of Monday's dramatic power blackout, one of the largest in Europe's history, remained unclear. All of Spain's nuclear reactors had to be shut down due to safety concerns when the grid went out on Monday, which led Mr Sanchez to claim that 'more than a solution, these plants have been a problem'. Spain is a leader in the use of renewable energy, with the country generating 57 per cent of its energy in 2024 from green sources. The grid frequently runs entirely from renewable sources for hours at a time, but falls back on nuclear and combined-cycle gas power plants when there is less wind and sun. Fundación Renovables, a Spanish think-tank in favour of the energy transition to renewable sources, said that Monday's crash must have been a grid management problem, not an issue with green energy. 'The disconnection of renewable plants and other generation systems was not the cause of the blackout,' it said in a statement. The think-tank argued that Spain's high percentage of renewable energy and the flexibility of technologies such as hydroelectric power actually enabled the grid operator to recover more quickly. 'If Spain did not have so much renewable capacity, the return to normal grid conditions would have taken longer,' the foundation said. Spain's grid was gradually brought up to strength on Monday evening and into Tuesday mainly with renewable sources. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
