Overview

• Spain and Portugal's worst blackout in recent memory was caused by two solar generation losses, resulting in a 15 GW drop and disconnection from France's grid.
• Red Eléctrica confirmed the events were not due to sabotage, but investigations into the precise failure mechanisms are ongoing.
• Experts attribute the blackout to outdated grid infrastructure lacking sufficient inertia, storage, and flexibility to manage supply shocks, not the use of renewables themselves.
• Minimal interconnection capacity with France limited the Iberian Peninsula's ability to import electricity during the outage, exacerbating the crisis.
• The incident has intensified calls for accelerated investment in energy storage, grid-balancing technologies, and stronger cross-border links to ensure future resilience.