Latest news with #EcologicalTransition
Washington Post
6 days ago
- Politics
- Washington Post
Spain says April's Iberian blackout was caused by multiple technical factors, not a cyberattack
MADRID — Six weeks after Spain and Portugal suffered a massive power outage, authorities in Madrid issued an official report Tuesday, saying April's cascading blackout that left tens of millions disconnected in seconds was caused by technical and planning errors that led to the grid's failure. Spain's Ecological Transition Minister Sara Aagesen, who manages the nation's energy policy, said in a press conference that small grid failures, concentrated in the south of Spain, led to a chain reaction among larger ones, while completely ruling out questions about a cyberattack.
The Independent
6 days ago
- Politics
- The Independent
Spain says April's Iberian blackout was caused by multiple technical factors, not a cyberattack
Six weeks after Spain and Portugal suffered a massive power outage, authorities in Madrid issued an official report Tuesday, saying April's cascading blackout that left tens of millions disconnected in seconds was caused by technical and planning errors that led to the grid's failure. Spain's Ecological Transition Minister Sara Aagesen, who manages the nation's energy policy, said in a press conference that small grid failures, concentrated in the south of Spain, led to a chain reaction among larger ones, while completely ruling out questions about a cyberattack. The minister said several technical causes that contributed to the event, including 'the poor planning' by operators of the grid who didn't find a replacement for one power plant that was supposed to help balance power fluctuations. The April 28 outage started shortly after 12:30 pm in Spain and lasted through nightfall, disrupting businesses, transit systems, cellular networks, Internet connectivity and other critical infrastructures. In just five seconds, Spain lost 15 gigawatts of electricity — or about 60% of its supply. Portugal, whose grid is connected to Spain's, also went down. Only the countries' island territories were spared. Power was fully restored by the early hours of the following day. The government report included analysts from Spain's national security agencies, which concluded, according to the minister, there were no indications of cyber-sabotage by foreign actors. The only solid information made public shortly after the system went down came from Spain's grid operator Red Eléctrica, which had narrowed down the source of the outage to two separate incidents in southern Spain where substations had failed. In the weeks following the blackout, citizens and experts were left wondering what triggered the event in a region not known for power outages and igniting a fierce debate about whether Spain's high levels of renewable power had something to do with the grid failing. Spain is at the forefront of Europe 's transition to renewable energy, having generated nearly 57% of its electricity in 2024 from renewable energy sources like wind, hydropower and solar. The country is also phasing out its nuclear plants. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez pushed back against such speculation and defended renewables. He asked for patience and said that his government would not 'deviate a single millimeter' from its energy transition plans, which include a goal of generating 81% of its electricity from renewable sources by 2030.
Associated Press
6 days ago
- Politics
- Associated Press
Spain says April's Iberian blackout was caused by multiple technical factors, not a cyberattack
MADRID (AP) — Six weeks after Spain and Portugal suffered a massive power outage, authorities in Madrid issued an official report Tuesday, saying April's cascading blackout that left tens of millions disconnected in seconds was caused by technical and planning errors that led to the grid's failure. Spain's Ecological Transition Minister Sara Aagesen, who manages the nation's energy policy, said in a press conference that small grid failures, concentrated in the south of Spain, led to a chain reaction among larger ones, while completely ruling out questions about a cyberattack. The minister said several technical causes that contributed to the event, including 'the poor planning' by operators of the grid who didn't find a replacement for one power plant that was supposed to help balance power fluctuations. The April 28 outage started shortly after 12:30 pm in Spain and lasted through nightfall, disrupting businesses, transit systems, cellular networks, Internet connectivity and other critical infrastructures. In just five seconds, Spain lost 15 gigawatts of electricity — or about 60% of its supply. Portugal, whose grid is connected to Spain's, also went down. Only the countries' island territories were spared. Power was fully restored by the early hours of the following day. The government report included analysts from Spain's national security agencies, which concluded, according to the minister, there were no indications of cyber-sabotage by foreign actors. The only solid information made public shortly after the system went down came from Spain's grid operator Red Eléctrica, which had narrowed down the source of the outage to two separate incidents in southern Spain where substations had failed. In the weeks following the blackout, citizens and experts were left wondering what triggered the event in a region not known for power outages and igniting a fierce debate about whether Spain's high levels of renewable power had something to do with the grid failing. Spain is at the forefront of Europe's transition to renewable energy, having generated nearly 57% of its electricity in 2024 from renewable energy sources like wind, hydropower and solar. The country is also phasing out its nuclear plants. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez pushed back against such speculation and defended renewables. He asked for patience and said that his government would not 'deviate a single millimeter' from its energy transition plans, which include a goal of generating 81% of its electricity from renewable sources by 2030.
CBC
28-05-2025
- General
- CBC
Majority of Montrealers against less frequent garbage pickup, poll finds
A new Leger poll commissioned by the City of Montreal suggests more than half of residents aren't on board with cutting back on curbside trash collection. As part of its push to become a zero-waste city by 2030, Montreal is considering reducing trash collection to once every two weeks, but 54 per cent of respondents said they're against the idea. We spoke to Marie-Andrée Mauger, Montreal's executive committee member in charge of ecological transition.
Borneo Post
24-04-2025
- Business
- Borneo Post
Malaysia to focus on realising Asean Power Grid, improve energy exchange programme, says Fadillah
Fadillah says that realising the power grid will improve energy security, accessibility and affordability not only within Malaysia but also among other Asean member states. – Bernama photo LONDON (April 24): Malaysia, as the Asean chair in 2025, will focus on realising the Asean Power Grid and improving the energy exchange programme among member states, said Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof. He said that realising the power grid will improve energy security, accessibility and affordability not only within Malaysia but also among other Asean member states. Fadillah, who is also the Energy Transition and Transformation Minister, said one of the issues regarding energy supply among Asean countries is that there are instances where a member state has extra power but cannot export the surplus. 'We are chairing Asean this year, so our focus will be on the Asean Power Grid. Within the Asean region, we need to support each other. 'So our focus this year is to come up with regulations and also study from other countries how we can improve the energy exchange programme among the (Asean) member states,' he said at the 'A Whole-of-System Approach-Addressing the Energy Trilemma' panel discussion held during the Summit on the Future of Energy Security event at the Lancaster House, here today. The topic was discussed during Plenary Session 1, titled 'Mapping the Energy Security Landscape-Defining a Holistic Approach of the Summit'. Among the other panellists were Spanish Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge Sara Aagesen Munoz, Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister and Energy Affairs and Minister Hayyan Abdel-Ghani, Egyptian Petroleum and Mineral Resources Minister Karim Badawi, as well as Colombia's Mines and Energy Minister, Edwin Palma Egea. Fadillah elaborated that by focusing on the power grid, Asean will be able to achieve energy security and affordability in terms of the electricity supply through cooperation among all the member states. 'We also will be able to contribute towards our commitment to clean energy for future generations,' the deputy prime minister said. Fadillah added that Malaysia updated its energy policy by introducing the National Energy Transformation Roadmap (NETR), which focused on ensuring Malaysia has a secure electricity supply countrywide and also contributing to the region's energy security. The deputy minister highlighted that cooperation within the region is also one of the focus areas Malaysia is exploring in terms of commitment to the energy trilemma of balancing sustainability, security, and affordability. 'In order to do that, we formed an implementation and planning committee for electricity at a high level between agencies and ministries that would decide in terms of planning the energy requirement and what the energy mix for the future would be,' he said. The two-day Summit on the Future of Energy Security that kicked off today was organised by the International Energy Agency (IEA) and the United Kingdom (UK) government and will see global decision-makers convene to advance actions to map and mould the future of energy security. – Bernama asean Asean power grid Energy Security fadillah yusof London
