The recent collapse of Spain’s electricity system on 28 April has been described as a historic event that challenges the resilience of the country’s energy transition. Fundación Renovables sees it as a wake-up call to reinforce decarbonisation commitments and insists on the need to build a “100% renewable and more robust” energy model.

“The events we have experienced must serve to reaffirm decarbonisation commitments, increase the resilience of the grid and avoid any setbacks in the rollout of renewables,” the foundation states.

The organisation strongly criticises the political exploitation of the outage to defend interests that go against the energy transition. “We denounce the lack of ethics in attempts to exploit the blackout to reverse decisions such as the nuclear phase-out, driven more by political polarisation and vested interests than by the actual performance of the plants during and after the incident,” warns Fundación Renovables.

While awaiting the official report on the causes of the outage, the entity outlines five priority areas that it considers essential to ensure an electricity system capable of facing future challenges.

Five Strategic Pillars for a Resilient Power System

1. Boost energy storage.
Fundación Renovables underscores the urgency of fast-tracking hybrid photovoltaic projects and advancing standalone storage systems. “This would provide a technology capable of supporting the grid during periods of instability while ensuring economic viability for generation facilities by shifting zero-price energy to other market periods,” they explain.

2. Fulfil interconnection targets with France and Europe.
The organisation points out that Spain currently has only 4% interconnection capacity with France, well below the 10% target for 2020 and 15% for 2030. “France has blocked any progress due to the highly competitive prices of the Spanish mix,” they note. The foundation calls on the European Union to intervene and accelerate implementation deadlines.

3. Digitalise and modernise the electricity grids.
The document highlights the need to increase investment in both transmission and distribution networks to avoid bottlenecks. It also calls for an urgent update of operational protocols, particularly to integrate grid-forming technology, which simulates the behaviour of synchronous generators using power electronics. “It is urgent to update the regulations to include grid-forming systems in new renewable projects,” stresses Fundación Renovables.

4. Accelerate demand electrification.
A direct critique is levelled at the disconnect between installed renewable generation capacity and the sluggish growth of electricity demand. “To date, generation capacity has risen significantly, while demand has grown slowly in recent years,” the foundation warns. Electrifying current fossil fuel consumption, particularly in transport, mobility, and industry, is presented as the way forward.

5. Implement demand-side flexibility mechanisms.
Finally, the foundation emphasises that flexibility should be incentivised at the demand level. “We need to establish mechanisms and procedures to enable flexible electricity demand, rewarding consumers,” they propose. Combined with storage initiatives, this would “create a more manageable electricity system.”

Seizing the Moment for Structural Reform

Fundación Renovables commends the swift and effective technical response to the blackout, which restored service faster than in comparable cases abroad. It acknowledges “the efforts and dedication of all professionals who worked tirelessly to restore normalcy to Spain’s power sector.”

Yet the foundation warns that this event must mark a turning point in energy planning. “Now is the time to push for bold technical and regulatory changes with a future-oriented vision to enhance system resilience,” it concludes.

“Spain cannot afford to backslide into dependence on fossil fuels.”