While solar and wind energy are clean and cost-efficient, they are inherently variable, producing power only when weather conditions permit.
As climate change adds further unpredictability to these resources, grid operators manage this variability using forecasting tools, energy storage, and “firm” power sources such as coal, gas, or nuclear that can quickly scale up or down to keep the grid stable.
In the case of Spain and Portugal, over 50 percent of the electricity at the time of the blackout was reportedly coming from solar power.
Some experts believe that a sudden spike in solar production, combined with a shortage of firm power plants operating at the time, left the grid unable to stabilise itself.
This imbalance may have triggered an automatic shutdown to protect critical infrastructure, resulting in a widespread power outage.
However, grid operators have so far refrained from confirming this explanation and maintain that the precise cause is still under investigation.