Europe
May 6, 2025

Energy security and renewables: a summit to address the Iberian blackout

FES Iberia 2025 will explore how to strengthen energy security in the aftermath of the blackout, analysing the role of storage, grids and regional integration in systems with high renewable penetration and increasing operational complexity.
By Energía Estratégica

By Energía Estratégica

May 6, 2025
Energy security and renewables: a summit to address the Iberian blackout

The recent energy crisis that left large parts of the Iberian Peninsula without power on 28 April marked a turning point in the region’s energy agenda. The blackout simultaneously impacted Spain, Portugal and southern France, causing a disconnection from the European electricity grid and triggering emergency protocols to prevent a total system collapse.

In this context of structural vulnerability, the Future Energy Summit Iberia 2025, to be held on 24 June in Madrid, will serve as a key forum where more than 400 energy sector executives, alongside public sector representatives, will discuss technical and strategic solutions to ensure energy security in scenarios marked by high renewable energy penetration.

PURCHASE TICKETS WITH EARLY BIRD BENEFITS

According to the available technical information, the blackout was triggered by a sequence of generation losses detected just seconds prior to the main event, which led to a sharp frequency drop across the system. 

Although the investigation is still ongoing, system data indicate that at least three generation losses occurred in the final twenty seconds before disconnection. 

These events, already reported by Red Eléctrica to the Commission for crisis analysis, reveal a growing pattern of instability that the system failed to contain—unlike in previous events where operational continuity was successfully maintained.

Industry experts agree that the Spanish electricity system faces two simultaneous challenges: understanding why specific generation plants disconnected—potentially due to voltage regulation issues—and why the system was unable to contain the generation losses and prevent a general blackout. 

This double failure raises significant questions about the responsiveness of current infrastructure in an environment where intermittent renewables are increasingly dominant and technical margins for control and response are narrower.

At the Future Energy Summit, the discussion will focus on how energy storage technologies, digital grid management solutions, new power purchase frameworks, and infrastructure planning can contribute to a more resilient energy architecture. 

The panels are expected to cover operational scenarios in low-inertia systems—as occur during periods of high solar and wind generation—and how frequency, voltage, and backup services can be reinforced using hybrid technologies and advanced storage systems.

Within this framework, the summit will also assess the operational and commercial consequences of the temporary breakdown in energy integration between Spain and Portugal. 

Following the event, the Portuguese system operator suspended imports from Spain as a precautionary measure, pending a full clarification of the blackout’s causes—maintaining exports to Spain but halting flows in the opposite direction.

This temporary decoupling significantly increased Portuguese electricity prices, with an average of €47.92/MWh, compared to €10.24/MWh in Spain, where even negative prices were recorded. 

It has also reduced the available market capacity to absorb midday photovoltaic generation, directly affecting the profitability of Spanish solar producers.

Furthermore, the need to rely more heavily on combined-cycle gas generation to compensate for the shutdown of nuclear units has led to higher operational costs and emissions

While recent weather—unfavourable for solar generation—has partially alleviated oversupply, concerns remain that limited flexibility and large-scale storage may become critical if renewable generation surges before regional energy trade fully normalises.

FES Iberia 2025 will feature the participation of companies such as Chemik, Yingli Solar and Matrix Renewables, alongside major players like Repsol, Galp and Sonnedix, who will present strategic perspectives on how to advance towards realistic energy security, supported by robust, integrated and flexible infrastructure capable of adapting to an accelerating system transformation.

PURCHASE TICKETS WITH EARLY BIRD BENEFITS

Beyond the current crisis, the 2025 edition of FES Iberia at the Auditorio Betancourt, Colegio de Caminos, reaffirms its status as the leading energy sector event in the region. It brings together the ecosystem’s key actors to define realistic roadmaps in a context of structural change and volatility.

With high-level networking spaces, technical panels and strategic sessions, FES Iberia consolidates its position as a premier platform where trends are anticipated and key agreements forged to enable the next phase of the energy transition—without compromising system security or stability.

0 Comments

Submit a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Related news

technologies

News in your
country


Select the sector you
want to know more about

Continue Reading

advanced-floating-content-close-btn