https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2025/04/28/blackout-risk-made-worse-by-net-zero/
Excerpt: A reliance on net zero energy left Spain and Portugal vulnerable to the mass blackouts engulfing the region, experts said last night.
In what is believed to be Europe’s largest power cut, tens of millions of people were left without electricity, while flights were grounded, trains halted and whole cities were left without power, internet access or other vital services.
The cause of the initial fault in the region’s electricity grid is still being investigated, and the EU has insisted that there were no indications that it was a cyberattack.
However, energy experts have blamed a heavy reliance on solar and wind farms in Spain for leaving the region’s power grid vulnerable to such a crisis.
Spain has seen a massive increase in renewable and low carbon electricity generation in recent years. Two decades ago more than 80pc of its power came from burning fossil fuels such as coal and gas, as well as nuclear. Solar and wind provided less than 5pc.
By 2023 renewable energy provided 50.3pc of power. On Monday the proportion of renewables was far higher. Around noon, just before the crash, solar was providing about 53pc of Spain’s electricity with another 11pc from wind, according to Red Eléctrica’s own data. Gas was providing only about 6pc.
On Monday Spain was forced to activate emergency measures to restore electricity across parts of northern and southern Spain, including switching hydroelectric plants across the country back on and importing power through giant cables with France and Morocco.
Traditional energy systems have mechanisms which allow them to keep running even if there is a shock, such as a surge or loss of power.
However, solar and wind do not have the same ability.
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