Opinion.- The April 28 blackout that left over 55 million people across Spain and Portugal without electricity has stirred a flurry of commentary on the role of renewable energy in grid stability. But blaming solar and wind power for the outage misses the mark. If anything, this crisis highlights the urgent need for smarter energy infrastructure—not less renewable power.
Renewable Energy: Unfairly Scapegoated?
On the day of the incident, solar accounted for around 55% of Spain’s energy mix, with wind, nuclear, and hydro contributing smaller shares. Critics were quick to cite this high renewable ratio as a point of failure. But experts—including grid operators and Spain’s environment ministry—have emphasized that the blackout was not caused by renewables per se, but by the grid’s inability to handle large and rapid shifts in energy flow.
Variable energy sources like solar and wind do require a more responsive grid. But that doesn’t make them unreliable. Rather, it underscores the need for technologies and protocols designed to manage variability—something the Iberian power systems still lack in full.
The Real Problem: An Outdated Power Grid
The blackout exposed a key vulnerability: a lack of inertia and flexibility in the grid. Traditional power stations provide stability through massive spinning turbines that help regulate frequency. Renewables, in contrast, do not naturally contribute this stabilizing inertia.
This doesn’t mean renewables are to blame—it means our systems must evolve. Grid-forming inverters, battery energy storage, and more sophisticated forecasting tools are already being developed and deployed worldwide to bridge this gap. Iberia needs to catch up.
The Path Forward: Integrate, Don’t Retreat
If this blackout teaches us anything, it’s that you can’t just pour renewables into a 20th-century grid and expect it to hold. Countries undergoing energy transition must modernize infrastructure hand-in-hand with scaling up clean energy.
The answer isn’t turning back the clock on solar and wind—it’s designing smarter, more resilient systems. Spain and Portugal are global leaders in renewables; now they must lead in the technology and policy innovations that ensure grid reliability in a decarbonized future.