Solar PV could have prevented the blackout but regulation still prevents it

Spain’s electricity system lacked sufficient capacity for dynamic voltage control at the time of the blackout on the Iberian Peninsula, according to Sara Aagesen, Minister for the Ecological Transition. The thermal generation units, which are financially compensated for controlling voltage, failed to absorb the reactive power needed during the high-voltage event on the grid.

In a statement, the Unión Española Fotovoltaica (UNEF) stressed that solar technology already has the technical capacity to manage voltage, although current regulations do not permit it. “Solar PV technology already has the capacity to control voltage, but regulation still prevents it,” the association warns.

UNEF welcomed Aagesen’s announcement on the acceleration of the Operating Procedure 7.4. “We welcome the minister’s announcement today that PO 7.4 will be fast-tracked. It will enable solar PV technology to contribute to voltage control on the grid, a proposal the sector has been requesting for some time,” the statement notes.

This incident also reignites debate about the need to deploy other available renewable technologies to ensure grid stability. UNEF particularly highlights the importance of grid-forming inverters, for which EU regulation is still pending, and battery storage.

To boost the deployment of energy storage, UNEF calls for the urgent implementation of the following measures:

1. Avoid changes in the competent authority when adding storage to a generation module.
   
2. Avoid restarting the administrative permitting process if the AAC or AAE has not yet been obtained, even for hybrid projects under 50 MW.
   
3. Do not add the installed capacity of storage in DC systems to the overall generation capacity.
   
4. Remove restrictions on demand permits for hybrid installations sharing infrastructure.
   
5. Launch demand access tenders for generation plants connected to the transmission grid.
   
6. Allow 100% demand access requests relative to the generation access permit in nodes reserved for tenders (currently 50%).
   
7. Exempt hybrid storage located within previously approved project perimeters from new environmental assessments.
   
8. Grant environmental exemptions for small-scale, distributed, and behind-the-meter storage.
   
9. Prevent the loss of dispatch priority for grid-charged hybrid storage.
   
10. Declare grid evacuation lines for stand-alone storage as Projects of Public Utility.