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What could be causing the Iberian Power Outage?

A massive blackout in Spain, Portugal, and parts of France has halted trains and bank machines, as well as traffic lights. It was one of the biggest power system failures ever seen in Europe.

Cyber Attack?

The Spanish grid operator Red Electrica has ruled out cyber attacks as the cause, but the High Court of Spain said that it will open an investigation in order to determine the reason.

Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez

Red Electrica said on Tuesday that just because it had ruled out any cyber attacks on its systems did not mean they could not have occurred.

EXPLAINATIONS SO FAR

Red Electrica reported that it had identified at least two incidents in southwest Spain of power loss caused by solar plants. This led to instability in the electrical system, and a breakdown in its interconnection with France. Electrical system collapsed, impacting both Spanish and Portuguese systems.

During the power outage, Spain exported electricity to France and Portugal. The exports to France reached close to their net export capacity up to 1000 local time. Red Electrica data shows that exports to France ceased at 1235 local times, from 868MW earlier.

On Tuesday, EU Energy commissioner Dan Jorgensen announced that the European Union would begin a comprehensive investigation into the power outages occurring in Spain and Portugal.

The Spanish grid is connected to those of France and Portugal as well as Morocco and Andorra.

What causes power outages?

Extreme weather conditions such as high winds, storms or lightning are the most common causes of unplanned power cuts that disable electricity on a wide scale. At the time of the collapse on Monday, it was a fair day.

When there are faults in power stations, distribution lines, or substations, they can cause power outages.

To ensure stability, the flow of electricity between systems is kept at 50 Hertz. Backup systems will disconnect power generation sources and other assets from the grid if that level changes.

SPAIN'S ENERGY MULTIPLE

Data from the think tank Ember show that Spain is among Europe's largest producers of renewable energy. It relies on wind and sun for 43%, which is well above the average global rate.

Red Electrica's data shows that solar photovoltaic (PV), wind, and nuclear power plants made up 59% of Spain’s electricity during the blackout. Solar PV was 50%, wind 3% and nuclear almost 15% on the same date last year.

The data revealed that in just five minutes between 1230 and 1035 local time (1030-1035 GMT), on Monday, the solar PV production dropped by over 50%, from 18 gigawatts to 8 GW. The cause of the drop is unknown.

What factors could be involved?

Experts and industry sources stated that the Spanish grid had very little inertia. Inertia is the energy stored in large rotating steam or gasoline turbine driving and rotating generators. It acts as a cushion as it can be quickly used to compensate sudden changes in supply or demand.

Solar provides a small rotating mass for the grid.

Around 5% of Monday's electricity was generated by gas-fired generators. In Spain, coal generation will be phased out by 2025. The largest coal-fired plant in Spain was shut down last year.

How can power be restored?

A "black start" is the process of restoring electricity after a major outage. This involves slowly restarting each power plant and reconnecting it to the grid.

Spain increased its power imports and turned on more hydropower and gas plants as it tried to regain power.

EXCESS RENEWABLES?

The collapse on Monday has led to a debate over whether the volatile supply of solar and winds has made Spain's electricity systems more susceptible to an outage.

The Prime Minister Sanchez stated on Tuesday that there is no problem with excess renewable energy. He added that the demand was low at the time of blackout and there was an ample supply.

EU Commissioner

Jorgensen

The cause of the blackout can't be attributed to a particular energy source.

The rapid growth of renewables has led to grid overloads during periods with high sunlight and low demand. Wholesale electricity prices have sometimes fallen to zero or even negative, forcing solar farms into a reduction of their output.

Analysts predict that solar farms will continue to expand in Spain and Portugal, resulting in a rise in negative price-hours in 2025 (reporting by Nina Chestney and Pietro Lombardi; editing by Jason Neely and Susan Fenton; and Gareth Jones).

(source: Reuters)