Factcheck: Did wind and solar really cause Portugal and Spain’s mass blackout?

illuminem summarises for you the essential news of the day. Read the full piece on Euronews or enjoy below:

🗞️ Driving the news: Experts have rejected claims that wind and solar energy were responsible for the massive blackout that affected up to 60 million people across Spain and Portugal on April 28
• Preliminary investigations point to a frequency disturbance that triggered automatic safety disconnections in large-scale power plants — including renewables — rather than a failure caused by renewable energy itself

🔭 The context: The incident caused a sharp demand drop from 25GW to 10GW within seconds and originated in southwestern Spain, a key solar production region
• While renewables were disconnected due to safety protocols, experts stress this was a reaction to a grid fault — not its root cause
• Spain’s rapid adoption of renewables has raised concerns over grid infrastructure compatibility, but grid operators and government officials alike confirm that clean energy sources did not cause the disruption

🌍 Why it matters for the planet: As countries accelerate the energy transition, misleading narratives blaming renewables for grid failures risk undermining public trust in clean energy
• This incident highlights the need for robust, modernised grid infrastructure to accommodate variable generation — without diverting focus from the climate benefits of decarbonisation
• Moreover, the role renewables played in the grid’s rapid recovery underscores their value in building a resilient, low-carbon energy system

⏭️ What's next: The Spanish government has established a commission to investigate the blackout’s root causes, including scrutiny of private energy firms
• Discussions are also underway about reinforcing interconnections with the wider EU grid to reduce the Iberian Peninsula’s vulnerability as an "energy island"
• Outcomes may shape future investments in grid infrastructure, renewable integration, and energy security policies

💬 One quote: “The fact that Spain has a high production of electricity from renewable sources has no link to the grid failures... We regret that an extremely serious situation is being taken advantage of to spread falsehoods,” — Fundacion Renovables in a statement

📈 One stat: At the peak of the crisis, renewables — including solar, wind, and hydro — were still contributing electricity to Spain’s grid while nuclear, gas, and coal plants were completely offline

See on illuminem's Data Hub™ the sustainability performance of Red Eléctrica and its peers Iberdrola, and REN

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