Widespread blackouts across Spain and Portugal caused by a major system imbalance serve as a stark warning for Australia’s ageing grid if we fail to intervene, according to the co-founder of utility software firm Neara.
Authorities in Spain and Portugal have promised to investigate what caused a massive blackout across Spain, Portugal and parts of France earlier this week, in what is one of Europe’s biggest ever grid failures.
While power has been restored to tens of millions of people, both countries remain under states of emergency due to the widespread outages, with experts saying it could take weeks to determine the cause.
Related article: Spain and Portugal to investigate cause of massive blackout
According to Spain’s grid operator Red Electrica, the blackout began at 12:30pm on Monday, with a sharp fluctuation in the Spanish electricity grid that caused the entire electricity system to disconnect from the rest of the European system.
In a matter of five seconds, 15GW of power was suddenly lost from the grid, leading to abnormal oscillations in the high-voltage lines and synchronisation failures across the interconnected power grid into France.
Neara’s Jack Curtis says Spain and Portugal’s nationwide power disruptions should serve as a stark reminder of what could occur if Australia fails to invest in a more resilient, optimised grid.
“This event should be a catalyst for urgent grid infrastructure updates, which have been overlooked for too long despite 2030 and 2050 energy targets drawing closer,” Curtis says.
“The current grid is 30 years old and simply wasn’t designed to manage the growing influx of renewable energy now entering the system at speed. The NEM has to triple its capacity to supply enough energy by 2050, overcoming decreased coal generation and meeting increased electricity consumption as sectors decarbonise through electrification.
“Pointing the finger at renewables as the source of the problem is not a sensible strategy. Increasing the capacity and reliability of the grid, both through new and existing infrastructure, is where the focus needs to reside.”
Derailing the current commitment to the clean energy transition would risk even greater disruption, Curtis says.
“To bring the grid into the future, we must look at technologies like AI and digital modelling, which provide utilities with granular insights into every inch of their network. This helps stress test assets against potential threats, from prolonged heatwaves, super storms, floods and rising demand, pinpointing vulnerabilities before it’s too late.
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“Solutions like battery storage are a backup when the grid fails, but these innovations must be met with a continued commitment to improving and replacing our aging assets through technological insights.
“Australia can’t afford to over-index on generation without addressing network availability and accessibility, because what happened in Spain and Portugal could become a reality here.
“We need the industry to work together, deploying new grid optimisation solutions simultaneously with the introduction of our new energy mix to mitigate risk rather than escalate it. The long-term resiliency and reliability of the network are reliant on this change.”
