Reacción a "What is known about the role of renewable energies in the blackout on the Iberian Peninsula "

It can be said that the ultimate responsibility for the blackout has not been caused by renewables. We have had days during Easter week where there was more contribution of renewables in the mix and nothing happened. The fact that 15 GW of photovoltaic generation was disconnected in less than five seconds is a proven fact and probably the only 100% reliable information for now. But the reasons for the disconnection need to be checked. It seems that there have been two previous incidents, which are not yet well known, that have caused the disconnection. These incidents undoubtedly created an unfavourable situation in the grid, overvoltage, voltage dip or change in frequency, which is what caused the disconnection. Therefore, to find the origin, it is necessary to know the complete information that has undoubtedly been recorded in Red Eléctrica's substations.

The conclusion that can be drawn from all this, for the moment, is that our grid is not yet ready to support so much renewable generation and that it is still necessary to rely on so-called ‘firm’ generation that provides inertia and stability to the system, such as hydroelectric, gas and even nuclear. It is clear that the future lies in renewable generation but the problem is that before we run we should know how to walk and the deployment of new renewable plants is outpacing new grid management policies. It should be better coordinated.

To avoid such problems in the future, several things are needed. Firstly, it is essential to improve the transmission grid, as there are many nodes in the grid that are saturated and any small disturbance can be a problem. Secondly, the system must be provided with adequate flexibility mechanisms that allow efficient management of possible contingencies by creating incentive mechanisms for generators that provide flexibility services. Thirdly, it is necessary to improve storage by means of pumping and batteries, given that this is a minority in our country, as well as interconnections with our neighbours. And fourth, grid codes need to be updated to allow renewable plants to participate in the system's flexibility mechanisms.