Europe’s massive power outage is a Net Zero clustermuck.

Leave a CommentEurope’s massive power outage is a Net Zero clustermuck.Power, Survival, Technology

Last week, on April 28, 2025, a major power outage struck the Iberian Peninsula, affecting Spain, Portugal, and parts of southwestern France, with minor disruptions in Andorra, Germany, and Italy.

The blackout, described as one of Europe’s most severe in nearly two decades, began at 12:33 CEST and lasted up to 18 hours in some areas, with most regions regaining power by early April 29. It disrupted critical infrastructure, including transportation, telecommunications, and hospitals, and caused at least seven deaths in Spain due to outage-related incidents like candle fires and generator exhaust fumes. Economic losses in Spain alone were estimated at €1.6 billion.

The outage was triggered by two consecutive “disconnection events” in the European electricity grid, with the second causing Spain’s power system to disconnect from the broader European grid, collapsing the Iberian network. Initial reports speculated that a fire in southern France damaged a high-voltage line, but France’s grid operator, Réseau de Transport d’Électricité (RTE), dismissed this, confirming no fires occurred in the area. Another theory pointed to a “rare atmospheric phenomenon” involving extreme temperature variations in Spain, causing oscillations in high-voltage lines. However, Portugal’s grid operator, Redes Energéticas Nacionais (REN), later clarified this was misattributed, and the exact cause remains under investigation. Spain’s cybersecurity agency, INCIBE, explored a potential cyberattack but found no evidence to support this. On April 29, Spain’s grid operator, Red Eléctrica de España (REE), attributed the outage to a grid disconnection in southwest Spain, though details remain unclear.

The European grid’s interconnected nature both exacerbated and mitigated the crisis. A sharp voltage imbalance, possibly due to a 15-gigawatt power loss in five seconds (equivalent to 60% of Spain’s demand at the time), led to cascading failures across the Iberian Peninsula. However, interconnections with France and Morocco helped stabilize the situation, with France supplying up to 2 GW and Morocco delivering 900 MW to Spain. Power was gradually restored using black-start capabilities at facilities like Portugal’s Castelo do Bode hydropower dam and Tapada do Outeiro gas plant. By Tuesday, April 29, 99% of Spain and all of Portugal had power restored, though transportation disruptions lingered.

Heavy reliance on renewables

The incident exposed vulnerabilities in Europe’s power grid, particularly Spain’s heavy reliance on renewable energy (56% of its electricity in 2024). Some experts suggest that low grid inertia from solar and wind power may have contributed to instability, though this alone isn’t sufficient to explain the outage. The event echoed past European blackouts, like Italy’s 2003 outage and Germany’s 2006 overload, highlighting risks in interconnected grids. The European Commission, led by Energy Commissioner Dan Jørgensen, has launched a thorough investigation, and Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez vowed to take measures to prevent recurrence, including holding private firms accountable. Portugal’s government plans to enhance black-start capabilities at additional sites to improve recovery times.

As of May 1, 2025, the cause remains undetermined, with ongoing investigations by European regulators and national agencies.

Instead of firing up a new nuclear power station, citizens advised to prepare for the cold and dark.

The EU’s crisis prevention official, Hadja Lahbib, emphasized the need for citizens to maintain 72-hour survival kits, citing the outage as a wake-up call for preparedness. Last year, Spain destroyed its nuclear power plants in a run at an early Net Zero economy. Renewable energy is a synonym for unreliable energy and Net Zero is a race for the bottom. Europe needs to get over its carbon obsession.