Fact check: Could an ‘experiment’ with renewables have triggered the Iberian Peninsula blackout?

An article published past week successful British newspaper The Telegraph alleges that nan monolithic energy outage that near nan Iberian Peninsula successful acheronian connected 28 April was triggered by a Spanish authorities “experiment” pinch renewable energies.

Ambrose Evans-Pritchard, The Telegraph’s World Economy Editor, wrote that according to “sources successful Brussels”, Spanish authorities were “probing really acold they could push reliance connected renewables” successful mentation for Spain’s phase-out of atomic reactors.

He gave nary further specifications regarding his sources and provided nary grounds to backmost up nan claims.

The accusations were picked up by awesome Spanish and world media, specified arsenic El Periódico, El Mundo and Antena 3, arsenic good arsenic The Daily Mail and CNN, and amplified by societal media users.

But a person look astatine nan article finds that it was successful truth published arsenic an opinion-editorial alternatively than a news article and Ambrose Evans-Pritchard is simply a regular Telegraph columnist.

He uses nan 28 April outage to criticise nan power policies of Spain’s socialist authorities led by premier curate Pedro Sánchez. Under a scheme agreed successful 2019 nether Sánchez, Spain will shape retired its atomic powerfulness plants complete nan adjacent decade to attraction alternatively connected greenish power sources, a move Evans-Pritchard describes arsenic reckless.

In his commentary Evans-Pritchard cites “Brussels sources” arsenic having confirmed that Spain conducted an research successful nan run-up to nan blackout. 

But he past says: “If it is established that nan blackout was a controlled research that went wrong, and if this accusation has been withheld from nan nationalist (...) nan Spanish Left faces electoral oblivion for a governmental generation.”

Euroverify reached retired to nan Telegraph to petition explanation connected nan number of sources consulted arsenic good arsenic their usability successful narration to ongoing investigations into nan incident, but person yet to person a reply.

We besides asked nan European Commission whether they could refute aliases corroborate nan claims. A spokesperson said that nan executive would not remark until it had seen nan investigation into nan causes of nan blackout.

The Commission has fixed Spain 3 months since nan day of nan outage to coming a method study outlining nan incident, a request nether EU law. An master European sheet is besides starring its ain probe to beryllium presented to nan Commission.

Meanwhile, nan Spanish authorities has “categorically denied" nan claims made successful nan Telegraph. 

Spain's lawman premier curate María Jesús Montero claimed that location were “corporate interests” down nan article, adding that nan British newspaper is “known for spreading clone news, lies and trying to distort nationalist opinion.”

A spokesperson for Red Eléctrica, nan partially state-owned institution responsible for managing nan Spanish grid, told Euroverify that it “categorically denied” nan claims, adding that it was an illustration of “fake news.”

Experts opportunity mentation is "not logical"

To found whether specified a government-led “experiment” connected nan grid could, successful principle, beryllium feasible, Euroverify said to 3 electrical engineering experts.

They explained that while nary hypothesis tin beryllium wholly disregarded, nan imaginable of specified an research is highly unlikely.

“Anything could beryllium possible, but this (theory) doesn't look reasonable,” Manuel Alcázar-Ortega, lawman head of nan Department of Electrical Engineering astatine nan Polytechnic University of Valencia, told Euroverify.

“From a method constituent of view, Red Eléctrica has had a simulator that replicates nan full transmission grid. So these simulations do not request to beryllium done successful existent life. They tin beryllium done successful this simulator.”

The simulator is utilized to trial nan grid’s capacity and foresee nan improvement of nan grid successful bid to create its infrastructure and accommodate to its early needs, Alcázar-Ortega explained.

Professor Dirk Van Hertem, interrogator astatine nan EnergyVille investigation centre successful Belgium, confirmed that specified machine simulations are utilized to analyse nan grid. 

He added that while real-life tests tin beryllium done successful practice, location was “no grounds that they were done astatine that moment” successful Spain.

Van Herteam added that nan clip successful mobility would not person been conducive to trial nan grid’s capacity to sorb renewables arsenic it was “not nan infinitesimal pinch nan highest renewable penetration successful Spain.”

Renewables "not nan problem"

One period since nan blackout, investigations person grounded to tie patient conclusions, contempt nan first analyses pointing to a beardown “oscillation” successful nan electrical web half an hr earlier nan outage arsenic good arsenic consecutive failures successful substations successful nan south-west of Spain.

The deficiency of answers has fuelled speculation complete nan effect of an expanding stock of renewable power successful nan grid.

Asked whether renewable power could person played immoderate portion successful nan outage, Alcázar-Ortega said: “Everything seems to bespeak that it did, pinch nan caveat that nan culprit is not renewable power itself, but astir apt really this assets has been managed.”

Spain has seen an exponential maturation successful nan stock of renewable power successful its operation successful caller years, pinch wind, solar, and hydro generating a grounds 56.8% of Spain's energy successful 2024.

“This has not been accompanied by systems that would let america to compensate for nan inertia that nan strategy was losing owed to it not having a replacement of nan existent inertia that accepted electrical generators provide,” Alcázar-Ortega said.

System inertia successful nan grid helps support wave wrong an acceptable range. Renewable power sources specified arsenic upwind and star are considered “inertia-less”, making nan powerfulness grid much unstable and susceptible to outages.

“It is not nan responsibility of renewables, but alternatively of not having nan retention systems aliases different types of ‘grid-forming’ inverters (...)  tin of providing this wave control,” Alcázar-Ortega added.

The Spanish premier curate has said that location is “no empirical grounds that nan incident was provoked by an excess successful renewables,” accusing pro-nuclear groups of capitalising connected nan incident to run against nan phase-out of atomic plants.