On April 28, 2025, at precisely 12:33 CEST, the lights went out across the Iberian Peninsula. What began as a voltage surge at a solar installation in Spain cascaded into a massive blackout affecting nearly 60 million people across Spain and Portugal, lasting approximately 10 hours in most areas. The event would prove to be more than just a technical failure. It became a watershed moment that exposed fundamental economic realities about renewable energy that policymakers and advocates have long sought to obscure.
The blackout occurred during peak solar generation, with photovoltaic sources providing approximately 59% of Spain’s electricity supply at the time of failure, complemented by 12% from wind power. This wasn’t a case of renewables failing to produce power; quite the opposite. The grid was actually oversupplied, exporting electricity to Portugal, France, and Morocco while using excess generation for pumped hydro…
