Renewable energy push strains aging EU grid as Spain’s blackout highlights urgent need for investment
By isabelle // 2025-05-07
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  • Millions in Spain and Portugal lost power in a sweeping blackout, revealing Europe’s fragile electricity infrastructure.
  • Experts warn the EU must modernize its outdated grid at a cost of trillions to prevent future disasters.
  • Renewable energy growth has outpaced grid upgrades, increasing instability risks across Europe.
  • Spain’s aggressive shift to renewables left it vulnerable due to insufficient backup power and aging infrastructure.
  • Europe needs massive investments in interconnections and storage to avoid more blackouts.
The lights went out across Spain and Portugal last week in a sweeping blackout that left millions without power, exposing the fragility of Europe’s aging electricity infrastructure. As authorities scramble to investigate the cause, energy experts warn that the incident is a dire preview of what’s to come if the European Union fails to modernize its grid in a project that could cost trillions. The blackout, which struck on April 28, underscores the risks of rapid renewable energy expansion without matching upgrades to transmission networks, storage, and backup systems.

A wake-up call for Europe

"The blackout was a wake-up call. It showed that the need to modernize and reinforce Europe’s electricity grid is urgent and unavoidable," said Kristina Ruby, secretary general of Eurelectric, Europe’s electricity industry association. The EU’s power grid, largely built in the 20th century, is struggling to handle the surge in wind and solar energy, which now accounts for 47% of the bloc’s power mix, up from 34% in 2019. Meanwhile, fossil fuels have dropped to 29%, according to data from think tank Ember. Spain, a leader in renewable adoption, has seen its green energy share soar to 56% of its power mix in 2024. But this progress comes at a cost. The country’s grid operator, Red Electrica, confirmed that two separate incidents triggered the blackout, though the exact cause remains under investigation. What’s clear, however, is that Europe’s infrastructure is dangerously outdated. Half of the EU’s power lines are over 40 years old, and investment in grids has stagnated at around €300 billion annually, which is far below the €600 billion per year the International Energy Agency says is needed by 2030.

The hidden costs of renewables

While wind and solar projects can be built quickly, grid upgrades take decades. Spain’s aggressive push to phase out coal and nuclear power, with plans to shutter all seven of its reactors by 2035, has left it vulnerable to instability. Unlike traditional power plants, renewable energy sources like wind and solar produce direct current (DC), which must be converted to alternating current (AC) for grid use. If generation drops, the system relies on backup AC power to prevent frequency collapses. Without it, cascading failures can lead to blackouts. Portugal, which shares a grid with Spain, has only two backup plants, a gas and a hydro facility, that are capable of responding to sudden power shortages. Prime Minister Luis Montenegro admitted the country needs more, but the reality is that much of Europe is in the same precarious position. The 2019 UK blackout, triggered by a lightning strike and a separate grid failure, serves as another grim reminder of the risks.

A trillion-dollar problem

The European Commission estimates that €2–2.3 trillion in grid investments will be needed by 2050 to prevent future disasters. Last year, European firms invested €80 billion ($90.5 billion) in grids, up from previous years, but analysts at Bruegel warn that annual spending must rise to €100 billion. A key issue is the lack of interconnections between countries. Spain, for example, has only 5% of its power connections outside the Iberian Peninsula, leaving it isolated during emergencies. The EU has set a target for member states to import at least 15% of their power from neighboring countries by 2030, up from the current 10%. Spain plans to double its interconnection capacity with France via a new link in the Bay of Biscay, but such projects take years to complete. Meanwhile, the continent’s storage capacity lags far behind demand. Europe currently has just 10.8 gigawatts of battery storage, a figure that must grow to 200 GW to ensure stability, according to the European Association for Storage of Energy.

A system on the brink

The Spanish blackout is not an isolated incident but a symptom of a deeper crisis. Blind faith in renewables, coupled with sluggish infrastructure investment, has left Europe’s power grid teetering on the edge. Without urgent upgrades, more blackouts are inevitable. As the EU races toward its 2050 green energy goals, the real question is whether its grid can survive the transition. Sources for this article include: YourNews.com Reuters.com Power-Technology.com
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