Macron Says: Spain's Mega Blackout was due to reliance on Renewable Energy

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-15550063/Macron-says-Spains-mega-blackout-countrys-reliance-renewable-energy.html

Macron says Spain's mega-blackout was due to the country's reliance on renewable energy

Emmanuel Macron has blamed Spain's mega-blackout on the country's overreliance on renewable energy.

The French President said the debate over the cause of the enormous power outage, which plunged Spain into darkness in April leaving five dead and millions without power, was 'a false one'.

The disruption, which also impacted Portugal and southwestern France, left areas in total darkness for nearly a day, cutting internet and telephone connection, while hampering transport. 

School pupils and workers were sent home for the day but many others were stuck in lifts or stranded on trains in isolated rural areas. 

Madrid's socialist government did not provide an explanation in the immediate aftermath of the outage, instead calling for patience while it was investigated. 

Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has repeatedly rejected criticism of the country's heavy reliance on renewable energy sources. 

And Spain’s electric grid operator Red Eléctrica de España pinned it on a significant and unprecedented drop in power generation. 

Mr Macron has now hit out at Spain's reliance on renewable energies, claiming 'no system can withstand such dependence'. 

Emmanuel Macron has blamed Spain's mega-blackout on the country's overreliance on renewable energy

Spain was plunged into darkness in April leaving five dead and millions without power

He said: 'The debate about Spain is a false one. Its problem is that it has a 100 per cent renewable energy model that its own domestic grid cannot support’

The blackout had nothing to do with the interconnections, he said, ‘but with the fact that no system, at least with current technology, can withstand such dependence on renewable energies.’

‘Stability in the energy mix is ​​needed, because otherwise, shocks that are too big occur. But it's not just about interconnections. Networks are needed,’ he added.

Experts have also claimed that the nation's heavy reliance on solar power leaves it vulnerable to future blackouts because of how renewable generators work compared with traditional power plants.

It has also prompted warnings about Ed Miliband's race to net zero in the UK. 

The Labour Energy Secretary wants to make the electricity system 95 per cent 'clean' by 2030 - which would see Britain rely almost exclusively on renewable energy.

Critics claim the 2030 target is too soon to ensure the grid is sufficiently resilient.

The power surge which caused the blackout in Spain was the 'most severe' in Europe in the last 20 years, and the first of its kind, a report in October found.

It was the first known blackout to be caused by overvoltage, which takes place when there is too much electrical voltage in a network, Damian Cortinas, president of the association of electricity grid operators Entso-e said.

The disruption left areas in total darkness for nearly a day, cutting internet and telephone connection, while hampering transport 

Pictured: People standing inside a supermarket without lights in Burgos on April 28, 2025, amid the outages

Spain’s Canary Islands, Balearic Islands and the territories of Ceuta and Melilla, located across the Mediterranean in Africa, were not affected. 

In the wake of the blackout, the Spanish Association of Electrical Energy Companies (Aelec), said it was not the country's generators that failed to deliver power to the grid, but rather it was the grid that failed to manage it and then shut down automatically.

The head of Spain's photovoltaic association, Jose Donoso, made a similar suggestion. He said: 'It's a matter of logic; the fact that the entire system goes down because of a photovoltaic plant makes no sense.'

Spain generated nearly 57 per cent of its electricity in 2024 from renewable energy sources like wind, hydropower and solar, according to Red Eléctrica.

About 20 per cent came from nuclear power plants.

In 2019, Sánchez's government approved a plan to decommission the country's remaining nuclear reactors between 2027 and 2035 as it expands its share of renewable energy even further.

The country aims to generate 81 per cent of its electricity by 2030 from renewable sources.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-15550063/Macron-says-Spains-mega-blackout-countrys-reliance-renewable-energy.html