Less than a week after 60 governments gathered in London to discuss the future of energy security, a massive power outage has impacted millions across Spain and Portugal. Our thoughts are with all those affected, and working round the clock to restore power. While the exact cause of the outage is still under investigation, the need for a more resilient power system has been clear for years.
Effectively integrated, modern renewables, including wind, solar, hydropower and geothermal, combined with energy storage, can stabilise the grid, balance supply and demand, deliver inertia and black start capability, and speed up recovery after failure.
Immediately after this power outage, renewable sources — solar, wind and hydropower — together with cross-border support from France, continued providing power for essential services.
This disruption has shown what’s at stake — it should serve as an urgent wake-up call to prioritise resilience and flexibility in the power system. This means more cross-border interconnections, system integration and energy storage — short-duration batteries, long-duration energy storage, conventional hydropower and pumped hydro.
The energy transition must continue with ambition, responsibility and foresight.
The Global Renewables Alliance (GRA) is a global alliance of renewable energy industry associations. It works with governments, industry, investors and other stakeholders to advance the policies, partnerships and investment needed to accelerate renewable energy deployment in line with the global 3xRenewables target to deliver secure, competitive and resilient energy systems.
Founded by the Global Wind Energy Council, the Global Solar Council, the Green Hydrogen Organisation, the International Geothermal Association, the International Hydropower Association, and the Long Duration Energy Storage Council, GRA provides a unified voice across wind, solar, hydropower, geothermal, green hydrogen, energy storage and grids.
