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Irish Independent
2 days ago
- General
- Irish Independent
Spanish power plants blamed for Iberian blackout by operators
Spanish grid operator Redeia blamed power plants for the massive blackout that affected the Iberian peninsula in April, as it disputed a government report that said its failure to calculate the correct energy mix was a key factor. While agreeing that a surge in voltage was the immediate cause of the outage, REE-owner Redeia blamed it on some conventional power plants – thermal power plants using coal, gas and nuclear – for failing to help maintain an appropriate voltage. Register for free to read this story Register and create a profile to get access to our free stories. You'll also unlock more free stories each week.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Renewable energy to blame for Spain's blackouts, official investigation finds
Spain's disastrous national blackout was triggered by solar farms switching off in response to plummeting power prices, an official investigation has found. A government report into Europe's biggest power cut found that Spain's solar farms were generating so much power on April 28, a particularly sunny day, that prices became 'negative' – meaning there were no profits to be made in operating them. Plunging prices triggered a mass switch-off, which sent voltage and frequency fluctuations cascading across the national grids of both Spain and Portugal. Back-up systems meant to guard against such fluctuations were not in effect. This caused blackouts that left more than 60m people across the Iberian peninsula without power, the Spanish government report concluded. The power cut caused massive gridlock in cities and left thousands stranded on trains and in elevators across the Iberian peninsula. Several deaths were also linked to the incident. Experts said in the immediate aftermath of the power cut that a reliance on net zero energy had left Spain and Portugal vulnerable to the blackouts because of the way renewable power is generated. However, Spain's Left-wing government has repeatedly insisted that green energy was not to blame. Alberto Núñez Feijóo, leader of the opposition People's Party (PP), said ministers were 'so intent on being the greenest in the world that you have led Spaniards into the dark', the BBC reported. The investigation's findings will fuel concerns about Britain's race to net zero, led by Ed Miliband, the Energy Secretary. Mr Miliband wants to make Britain's energy system carbon-free by 2030, a shift that would see the country rely almost entirely on renewable energy, such as wind, solar and nuclear to keep the lights on. Critics say more time is needed to ensure the grid is resilient and prepared for the huge shift. The Spanish report, made public on Tuesday, described how the power cut, which occurred shortly after midday, had been preceded by unusual voltage fluctuations across the Spanish grid from roughly 10am onwards. Those fluctuations correlated with abrupt reductions in solar generation, which were probably driven by solar farms switching off as wholesale power prices fell. This coincided with other, wider changes such as an abrupt drop in the amount of power being exported to France. While the solar switch-off appears to be the immediate trigger for the blackouts, investigators blamed the country's grid operator Redeia for failing to calculate the correct mix of energy generation needed to prevent a blackout. Redeia disputed that finding, saying voltages had always been within set limits. Investigators also attributed a portion of blame to power plant operators. Some had been paid to keep nuclear and gas-fired power stations in operation to stabilise the system but had turned down those plants too in order to save money. Sara Aagesen, Spain's energy minister, said power plants 'should have controlled voltage and, moreover, many of them were economically remunerated to do so. They did not absorb all the reactive power that was expected'. Redeia rejected any blame and said it was the fault of power plants. Concha Sanchez, operations chief, told a news briefing: 'Had conventional power plants done their job in controlling the voltage there would have been no blackout.' Beatriz Corredor, the company's chairman, said Redeia will release its own full report on the causes of the outage. Duncan Burt, who previously worked for National Grid and is now chief strategy officer at Reactive Technologies, said many of the recommendations on reinforcing the country's power grids in the Spanish report already had been implemented in the UK. 'This kind of event would be very unlikely to happen in the UK because its grid operators have already invested a lot in voltage control equipment and measuring systems for inertia,' he said. 'The UK is further ahead than Spain in its energy transition.' A spokesman for Solar Energy UK, the industry trade body, said: 'The major lesson is that the grid needs to be reinforced as renewable generation expands, as is happening here. 'The Spanish grid lacked utility-scale battery capacity and grid-forming inverters, which is unlike the UK electricity networks.' Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Straits Times
2 days ago
- Politics
- Straits Times
Explainer-What caused the Iberian power outage and what happens next?
FILE PHOTO: Power lines connecting pylons of high-tension electricity are seen during sunset at an electricity substation on the outskirts of Ronda, during a blackout in the city, Spain April 28, 2025. REUTERS/Jon Nazca/File Photo Explainer-What caused the Iberian power outage and what happens next? LONDON - Spain's government and its grid operator have issued separate findings into the causes that led to the massive blackout across Spain and Portugal on April 28, which caused gridlock in cities and left thousands stranded on trains and in elevators across the Iberian Peninsula. WHAT CAUSED THE BLACKOUT? The Spanish government said in a report on Tuesday that Spain's grid operator Redeia miscalculated the correct mix of energy in the system. The government also blamed some conventional power plants, or thermal power plants using coal, gas and nuclear, for failing to help maintain an appropriate voltage level and as a result, the grid was unable to cope with a surge in voltage that triggered a cascade of power plant disconnections, ultimately leading to the outage. Voltage - the force that drives electric current - must be kept within a safe range to maintain grid stability. Redeia said on Wednesday that a surge in voltage was the immediate cause of the outage but blamed it on conventional power plants failing to control the voltage level. It pointed instead to anomalies in the disconnection of power plants on April 28 and an unexpected spike in electricity demand from the transport network. Redeia rejected the claim that its energy mix miscalculation was a key factor. WHAT SHOULD HAVE HAPPENED? Grid operators typically use a raft of tools to ensure power systems have the right frequency, voltage and supply to keep them stable. The government report said the number of generators the grid had available to provide voltage control on April 28 was lower than it had in previous weeks and that not all units that should have responded did so as expected. The companies operating the plants that failed to ensure the proper voltage controls have not been named and Redeia's report also did not identify them. Spain's Energy Minister Sara Aagesen told a news briefing in Madrid that the grid operator did not have enough capacity to regulate voltage. However, Redeia's operations chief Concha Sanchez said on Wednesday that based on the grid's calculations the grid had planned adequate voltage support, but some plants did not respond as expected. WHERE RENEWABLES TO BLAME? No. Both the government and Redeia said renewable energy sources were not responsible for the blackout. Spain is one of Europe's biggest producers of renewableenergy and has a high share of solar power, which accounted for 59% of the country's electricity at the time of the blackout. "Had conventional power plants done their job in controlling the voltage there would have been no blackout," Redeia's Sanchez said. DID THE FRENCH POWER LINK PLAY A ROLE? At the time of the outage, Spain was also exporting power to France and Portugal. Energy Minister Aagesen explained that at 12:03 p.m., an "atypical" oscillation was detected in the power system. In response, the grid operator implemented standard control procedures, including reducing electricity exports to France. While these actions successfully mitigated the oscillation, they also caused a secondary effect: an increase in voltage, according to the report. WHAT HAPPENS NEXT? The government said on Tuesday it will propose measures to strengthen the grid and improve voltage control. It also plans to better integrate the peninsula with the European grid, it said. Redeia said it will issue its full report later on Wednesday. The government report will go to the European Network of Transmission System Operators which is doing its own inquiry. Any parties found responsible for the blackout may be liable for losses incurred during the outage, subject to any legal action. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Reuters
2 days ago
- General
- Reuters
Explainer: What caused the Iberian power outage and what happens next?
LONDON, June 18 (Reuters) - Spain's government and its grid operator have issued separate findings into the causes that led to the massive blackout across Spain and Portugal on April 28, which caused gridlock in cities and left thousands stranded on trains and in elevators across the Iberian Peninsula. The Spanish government said in a report on Tuesday that Spain's grid operator Redeia ( opens new tab miscalculated the correct mix of energy in the system. The government also blamed some conventional power plants, or thermal power plants using coal, gas and nuclear, for failing to help maintain an appropriate voltage level and as a result, the grid was unable to cope with a surge in voltage that triggered a cascade of power plant disconnections, ultimately leading to the outage. Voltage - the force that drives electric current - must be kept within a safe range to maintain grid stability. Redeia said on Wednesday that a surge in voltage was the immediate cause of the outage but blamed it on conventional power plants failing to control the voltage level. It pointed instead to anomalies in the disconnection of power plants on April 28 and an unexpected spike in electricity demand from the transport network. Redeia rejected the claim that its energy mix miscalculation was a key factor. Grid operators typically use a raft of tools to ensure power systems have the right frequency, voltage and supply to keep them stable. The government report said the number of generators the grid had available to provide voltage control on April 28 was lower than it had in previous weeks and that not all units that should have responded did so as expected. The companies operating the plants that failed to ensure the proper voltage controls have not been named and Redeia's report also did not identify them. Spain's Energy Minister Sara Aagesen told a news briefing in Madrid that the grid operator did not have enough capacity to regulate voltage. However, Redeia's operations chief Concha Sanchez said on Wednesday that based on the grid's calculations the grid had planned adequate voltage support, but some plants did not respond as expected. No. Both the government and Redeia said renewable energy sources were not responsible for the blackout. Spain is one of Europe's biggest producers of renewable energy and has a high share of solar power, which accounted for 59% of the country's electricity at the time of the blackout. "Had conventional power plants done their job in controlling the voltage there would have been no blackout," Redeia's Sanchez said. At the time of the outage, Spain was also exporting power to France and Portugal. Energy Minister Aagesen explained that at 12:03 p.m., an "atypical" oscillation was detected in the power system. In response, the grid operator implemented standard control procedures, including reducing electricity exports to France. While these actions successfully mitigated the oscillation, they also caused a secondary effect: an increase in voltage, according to the report. The government said on Tuesday it will propose measures to strengthen the grid and improve voltage control. It also plans to better integrate the peninsula with the European grid, it said. Redeia said it will issue its full report later on Wednesday. The government report will go to the European Network of Transmission System Operators which is doing its own inquiry. Any parties found responsible for the blackout may be liable for losses incurred during the outage, subject to any legal action.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Spain's grid operator blames power plants for blackout, disputes miscalculation
By Pietro Lombardi MADRID (Reuters) -Spanish grid operator Redeia blamed power plants for the massive blackout that affected the Iberian peninsula in April, as it disputed a government report that said its failure to calculate the correct energy mix was a key factor. REE-owner Redeia's own investigation discovered anomalies in the disconnection of power plants on April 28 even though voltage in the system was within legal limits, operations chief Concha Sanchez told a news briefing on Wednesday. A combined-cycle plant that was supposed to provide stability to the system disconnected in the first seconds of the blackout when it should not have, while there was also an anomalous growth in demand from the transport network, she said. "Based on our calculation, there was enough voltage control capabilities planned" by Redeia, she said. "Had conventional power plants done their job in controlling the voltage there would have been no blackout." Aelec, which represents Spain's main electricity companies including Iberdrola and Endesa, said in a statement on Tuesday it agreed that voltage control was the main cause of the outage, but said that, as system operator, Redeia was ultimately responsible for controlling voltage. The government's report released on Tuesday said Redeia's miscalculation was one of the factors hindering the grid's ability to cope with a surge in voltage that led to the outage that caused gridlock in cities across the Iberian peninsula and left tens of thousands stranded on trains overnight or stuck in lifts. But Sanchez said the system was in "absolutely normal conditions" at noon just before the blackout and that adding another gas plant to the system to absorb additional voltage would have made no difference. Redeia, which is partly state-owned, will release its own full report on the causes of the outage, its chair, Beatriz Corredor, told the same news briefing. Corredor said she had absolute faith in Redeia's calculations and that the operator had complied with all procedures and rules.
