Miguel de Simón Martín

The European Network of Transmission System Operators for Electricity (ENTSO-E) has published its final report on the blackout of 28 April 2025 that left mainland Spain and Portugal without power. The document, drawn up by a panel of 49 members, concludes that the blackout was caused by a combination of many interacting factors, including oscillations, deficiencies in voltage control, rapid power reductions and generator disconnections in Spain. These factors caused rapid voltage rises and cascading generation disconnections, leading to the blackout. At a press briefing, Damián Cortinas, Chair of the ENTSO-E Board of Directors, clarified: “The problem is not renewable energy, but voltage control, regardless of the type of generation”. He added: “This isn’t about high technology; it’s something we’ve been able to do for decades.” Experts have made recommendations to prevent similar situations in Europe, such as strengthening operational practices, improving monitoring of system behaviour, closer coordination and data sharing among electricity system operators. Furthermore, they have highlighted the need to adapt regulatory frameworks to implement these recommendations in line with the changing nature of the electricity system.

Science magazine has chosen “the seemingly unstoppable growth of renewable energy” as the most notable scientific advance of 2025. The journal highlights that this year was the first in which solar and wind energy surpassed fossil fuel-based energy in certain areas. In this transition, Science highlights the role of China, which now dominates global production of solar panels, wind turbines, and lithium batteries, and has managed to make renewable energy technology cheaper. Among the obstacles, the magazine cites the continued widespread use of coal and political resistance in countries such as the United States.

The power outage that occurred after midday on Monday has left millions of people in the Iberian peninsula and some parts of southern France without electricity. According to Red Eléctrica, at 11:15 (peninsular time) on Tuesday, the peninsular electricity system was back to normal. ‘After surpassing the morning peak demand at 8:35 am with 28,677 MW, the night peak is expected at 21:10 pm with 31,200 MW’, they indicate.