Could solar power have been a factor in recent Spain and Portugal power outage?

Former regulators and experts suggest that the Spanish electricity grid’s inability to manage a high supply of solar power was a key factor in the recent widespread power outage in Spain and Portugal.

The blackout occurred when 15GW of electricity generation disconnected from the grid within five seconds, affecting power systems across both countries. At the time, about 55% of Spain’s electricity supply came from solar sources.

Experts argue that Spain lacked sufficient “firm power” – reliable energy from sources like fossil fuels or nuclear – to compensate for the sudden drop in grid frequency. A stable frequency is crucial for the grid’s operation.

While Spanish grid operator Red Eléctrica has not confirmed the exact cause, former French grid operator RTE chief executive André Merlin stated that the high proportion of “non-controllable resources” like solar contributed to the instability.

However, Red Eléctrica Chief Executive Beatriz Corredor denied that renewables “made the system more vulnerable” in an interview with El País on Wednesday.

Jorge Sanz, a former Spanish energy official, suggested that an oversupply of electricity may have initially caused the problem. With a limited number of traditional plants online, the grid operator had limited capacity to reduce the excess supply, leading to a system-wide disconnection.

The incident has raised concerns about Spain’s reliance on solar energy, which typically accounts for about a fifth of the country’s supply. Critics argue that there was “poor management” of the grid, with insufficient firm power sources to balance the system.