On April 28, 2025, a catastrophic power outage plunged millions of people in Spain and Portugal into chaos. [emphasis, links added]
The blackout, one of Europe’s largest in recent memory, struck shortly after midday, instantly severing electricity supplies and disrupting transportation, healthcare, and communication across the Iberian Peninsula.
Traffic lights went dark, nearly 400 flights at Madrid’s airport were delayed or canceled, and hospitals scrambled to keep emergency systems running. Spain’s national railway, Renfe, halted entirely, leaving passengers stranded for hours.
This disaster wasn’t caused by extreme weather or natural disasters, it was driven by a dangerously unstable reliance on intermittent renewable energy.
Ironically, Spain and Portugal have championed renewable sources more aggressively than most nations. In 2023, solar and wind produced approximately 40% of Spain’s and Portugal’s power generation.
Yet, this green utopia turned into a nightmare as renewable energy’s unpredictability was starkly exposed.
Authorities suggested that rising midday temperatures may have stressed the grid, but today’s AccuWeather forecast for Spain shows otherwise. Temperatures across the interior remain moderate, ranging from the mid-50s to the low 70s Fahrenheit, hardly extreme conditions that could credibly destabilize a robust energy system.
This calls into question official explanations and highlights how brittle a heavily renewable-powered grid can be… even in ordinary weather.
While renewables have undeniable environmental benefits, their unstable nature requires robust grid infrastructure, significant backup power sources, and extensive storage solutions, none of which were sufficiently in place.
Limited interconnection capacity with neighboring countries further exacerbated the situation, preventing Spain and Portugal from effectively drawing power from elsewhere during the crisis.
And how rare are such blackouts really? According to The Independent, power disruptions of this scale are extremely rare for advanced nations like Spain and Portugal… but as reliance on unstable energy sources increases, we may see more of them.
How many lives might be lost or severely impacted due to this power outage?
Hospitals running on backup generators, emergency services slowed or stalled, vulnerable populations stranded without essential medical equipment; these consequences far surpass the hypothetical threats posed by climate change itself.
Irrational Fear is written by climatologist Dr. Matthew Wielicki and is reader-supported. If you value what you have read here, please consider subscribing and supporting the work that goes into it.
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