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ENB Pub Note: This is also a vital lesson for grid operators in New York, New Jersey, Delaware, California, and other regions that have installed heavy wind and solar capacity without the critical dispatchable power in a ready state, such as coal, natural gas, and nuclear. The grid requires obedience to physics and fiscal responsibility. I will be interviewing David Blackmon and Robert Bryce on this huge topic today, live on X, YouTube, and LinkedIn.
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Red Eléctrica, Spain’s national power grid operator, reported that 99.16% of the country’s power supply was restored by 6:00 a.m. on April 29, 2025, with 100% of transmission grid substations energized. By the morning of April 29, the grid was fully operational, meeting virtually all electricity demand.
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Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez confirmed on April 29 that more than 95% of the total supply was restored by 6:30 a.m., and subsequent updates indicated complete restoration.
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The U.S. Embassy in Spain noted on April 30, 2025, that over 99% of the power supply was restored, with cellular service largely operational, though some intermittent connectivity issues persisted.
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The BBC reported on April 29 that power was fully restored in both Spain and Portugal, though transportation disruptions continued into the second day.
The massive blackouts in Spain and Portugal have exposed the risks of overreliance on wind and solar, raising fresh concerns for the UK’s grid stability.
The massive power cuts that affected Spain and Portugal are a reminder of how vulnerable modern society is to a collapse in the electricity grid for whatever reason. [emphasis, links added]
Everything stopped, from supermarket checkouts to air traffic control systems. Rail transport on the Iberian Peninsula was paralysed for hours. On the roads, traffic lights failed, causing huge jams, while in Madrid, the Metro closed its stations.
The mobile phone and internet networks collapsed, while shops shut when their electronic tills failed.
The governments in both countries were clearly caught on the hop with few official pronouncements and no obvious emergency plan.
Rumours of a cyberattack were discounted, and experts pointed to the undue reliance on solar power, which makes grids less resilient against shocks than gas and coal-fired generators.
Britain is particularly at risk both because of its switch to renewables as part of the Government’s aim to decarbonize the grid by 2030, and a heavy reliance on imported electricity.
In January, during an anti-cyclonic period of no sun or wind, a blackout was only averted because of electricity from Norway through the 450-mile interconnector.
Without it, the country might have suffered a cascading blackout similar to that in Spain and Portugal. Who is to say such help will continue?
There is resentment in Norway, a country accustomed to cheap and abundant energy, at the higher bills they face to bail out the UK, and the government in Oslo fell over green energy policies.
Ed Miliband, the Energy Secretary, has recently been on a crusade to debunk criticisms of his net-zero strategy. He has claimed that “fossil fuels simply cannot provide us with the security or the affordability we need.”
But seeking to eradicate them from our electricity generation within five years risks both security and affordability. Has the impact on the grid of a move mostly to renewables been properly considered?
The closure over the next three years of aging nuclear power stations, delays in building new ones, and rising demands for electricity will leave the UK facing a crunch point in about 2028.
The chances that wind, solar, and other renewables will fill the gap are fanciful.
People rely on their governments to keep the lights on, but as we saw in Spain and Portugal, the impact goes far beyond that. The backlash against politicians who let it happen will be immense.
Top image of electric rail passengers stranded in Valencia. Sky News/YouTube screencap
Read more at The Telegraph
The post Spain and Portugal’s Blackouts Expose The Real Risks Of UK’s Net Zero Push appeared first on Energy News Beat.
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