Solar Farm Failures Caused Spains massive Power Cuts

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Solar Setback: Spain's Power Grid Stumbles Amid Renewable Push

 

A sweeping blackout that plunged Spain and Portugal into chaos has been traced back to failures at solar farms, according to Spain’s national grid operator. The incident, which occurred just after midday on Monday, saw electricity vanish from more than half the Iberian Peninsula within seconds, impacting nearly 60 million people across the region.

 

Red Eléctrica de España (REE), Spain’s grid operator, confirmed that two major power losses in the southwest—likely originating from solar plants—triggered instability in the network. This disruption severed the interconnection with France and rippled across borders, temporarily affecting southwest France and even reaching Morocco, where airport systems and internet services faltered. Despite rampant speculation, REE has ruled out a cyber attack as the cause of the collapse.

 

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez reinforced this conclusion on Tuesday. “Those who link this incident to the lack of nuclear power are frankly lying or demonstrating their ignorance,” he said, rebuking claims by the far-right Vox party, which has long opposed Spain’s plan to phase out nuclear energy. Sanchez also announced the formation of a government commission to ensure such a massive failure does not repeat, promising that “all the necessary measures will be taken.”

 

Portugal’s Prime Minister Luis Montenegro echoed the sentiment, stating the fault was “probably in Spain.” REN, the Portuguese grid operator, also blamed a “fault in the Spanish electricity grid” for the widespread disruption.

 

Though cyber defence authorities continue to investigate REE’s digital systems as a precaution, the High Court of Spain has opened an investigation to determine whether a cyberattack on critical infrastructure might have played a role. If evidence emerges supporting that theory, the incident could be treated as a terrorism case. For now, the focus remains on technical causes—namely, the vulnerabilities that come with heavy reliance on renewable energy.

 

According to REE, around 15 gigawatts of electricity—over half of the country’s active consumption—“suddenly disappeared” in a span of five seconds. By Tuesday morning, 99 percent of the mainland grid was operational again, but the disruption left lasting effects. Schools in several areas remained closed, and only half of the usual commuter trains into Madrid were running. Metro lines in Valencia and Barcelona continued to experience partial shutdowns.

 

The blackout caused dramatic scenes across both countries. In Madrid alone, emergency services performed 286 rescue operations to extract people trapped in elevators. Customers rushed to banks to withdraw cash, while city streets filled with residents desperately searching for mobile signals. Traffic lights failed, and police struggled to control increasingly gridlocked roads.

 

Tourists were also caught in the turmoil. At Seville airport, Rob Parkinson, a 63-year-old retired teacher from Manchester, described his frustration as he tried to rent a car. “We had just arrived in the country and this happens. If only I had been the person one in front in the queue I would have got the last car,” he said. Stranded travellers overwhelmed nearby hotels as staff tried to reboot systems and process bookings.

 

Spain’s nuclear power plants automatically shut down as a precautionary measure. Diesel generators kept them in a stable condition, according to the Spanish Nuclear Safety Council. Meanwhile, high-speed rail services faced widespread cancellations and delays, with three trains still stranded Tuesday morning. Overnight, major train stations in cities like Madrid, Barcelona, and Valencia were kept open to shelter stranded passengers.

 

Prime Minister Sanchez admitted the blackout caused “serious disruption” and “economic losses in businesses, in companies, in industries.” As the region recovers, questions remain about the resilience of increasingly renewable-dependent power grids—and what safeguards are needed to prevent future collapses.

 

  Adpated by ASEAN Now from The Telegraph  2025-05-01

 

 

[Tug]

Good to know they figured it out,hopefully they will implement plans and procedures to avoid this in the future.

[mrfill]

So typical of the Telegraph to blame solar power when the problem appears to be in the control system. They shut down all their nuclear stations, presumably fearing a cyber attack there too. The source of the power is irrelevant - the control systems is what is vulnerable for any source.

[Ben Zioner]

Hush that please, the next thing we'll hear is PEA banning On Grid Solar.

[Pogust]

The problem with all those small operators is to keep the 50 hertz stable. Without large suppliers like nuclear that has a large "swing mass" there will be problems coming again. A 3 phase system can easily shortcut itself  if out of sync. The more small suppliers that connects to the grid, the more of those system failures we will see.

[Bkk Brian]

53 minutes ago, mrfill said:

So typical of the Telegraph to blame solar power when the problem appears to be in the control system. They shut down all their nuclear stations, presumably fearing a cyber attack there too. The source of the power is irrelevant - the control systems is what is vulnerable for any source.

Is it also typical of Reuters?

 

REE said it had identified two incidents of power generation loss, probably from solar plants, in Spain’s southwest that caused instability in the electric system and led to a breakdown of its interconnection with France.

https://archive.ph/zfyt5

[Cameroni]

Meanwhile this could never happen in France, do to the massive use of nuclear power. Yet another example of do-gooder ideology making life worse for everyone else. Obviously the solar plants were the issue.

 

Sanchez has to go.