30 April 2025
Iberian blackout casts light on a deeper issue: energy security relies on renewable energy and stronger grids
MADRID, 30 April 2025 — While this week’s power outage across Spain, Portugal, and parts of southern France triggered intense speculation about its causes, it is well-established that power system failures are overwhelmingly rooted in grid weaknesses, not generation shortages [1]. Strengthening grids is therefore essential, not only for energy security today, but for realising the full promise of a renewable-based energy system tomorrow.
“As we wait for the cause of the Iberian blackout to be determined, we are reminded of a broader truth: resilient grids and clean flexibility solutions are the foundations of a secure, clean energy future, and this event tells us that investing in them can no longer be delayed. Renewables are the future, and it’s only by future-proofing our infrastructure that we can deliver a fully reliable and clean energy system for decades to come,” said Juliet Phillips, energy campaigner at Beyond Fossil Fuels.
The power outage also demonstrated the benefits of distributed, autonomous renewable clean energy systems. For example, the University of Almería remained open thanks to on-site solar and battery storage [2], while households across Spain and Portugal used electric vehicle batteries to bridge local power supply gaps.
Even in the aftermath of the event, when electricity began to flow back into the grid on Monday afternoon, the main sources of generation were renewables [3], proving more resilient and reliable than nuclear power, which was still down by midday on Tuesday.
When fossil fuel-based systems fail, they can take several days to restart, as in the case of the 2021 Texas power outage, when fossil gas was primarily to blame for the systemic collapse [4].
The broader lesson is unmistakable: energy security, affordability, and climate protection all depend on completing the transition to a renewable-based power system. This requires modernising and strengthening grids and flexibility.
“Grid system operators need to be given a climate mandate to invest and plan for the renewables-based energy system of the future. This requires a rapid scale up of energy storage, interconnectors and other sources of flexibility. They need to be empowered to implement these solutions, particularly as we face the prospect of more frequent extreme weather events,” added Phillips.
ENDS
NOTES:
- The Regulatory Assistance Project’s Power Outage Rapid Response Toolkit: https://www.raponline.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/RAP-Power-Outage-Rapid-Response-Toolkit-12.2022.pdf
- https://elpais.com/educacion/2025-04-28/el-apagon-en-colegios-y-universidades-desde-el-desconcierto-de-madrid-a-la-suspension-de-las-actividades-en-andalucia.html
- https://www.euronews.com/green/2025/04/29/did-renewable-energy-cause-spain-and-portugals-mass-blackout-experts-weigh-in
- https://www.carbonbrief.org/media-reaction-texas-deep-freeze-power-blackouts-and-the-role-of-global-warming/
CONTACTS:
Juliet Phillips, Energy Campaigner, Beyond Fossil Fuels
[email protected], +44 7443 503328
Julia Pazos, Communications Manager, Beyond Fossil Fuels,
[email protected], +13109949692
ABOUT:
Beyond Fossil Fuels is a collective civil society campaign committed to ensuring all of Europe’s electricity is generated from fossil-free, renewable energy by 2035. It expands and builds upon the Europe Beyond Coal campaign, and its goal of a coal-free Europe in power and heat by 2030 at the latest. www.beyondfossilfuels.org