Spain, the most affected country, has increased the participation of solar panels in its territory; episode is similar to what happened in Brazil in 2023
The energy overload produced by renewable sources may be the cause of what has reached European countries such as Portugal, Spain, France and Belgium on Monday (28.br.2025). The investigation into what caused the episode is still underway, but the growth in the participation of solar panels and wind turbines in Spain – which is more affected by the lack of energy – is pointed out as the main suspicion.
Like the Poder360Spain was one of the countries that most added wind and solar renewable sources to its electrical matrix last year. To the digital newspaper, the founding partner and director of (Brazilian Infrastructure Center), stated that the episode is “similar” with what happened in Brazil in 2023.
On August 15, 2023, all Brazilian states were left without light because of one. The conclusion of what the incident caused was the ONS (National System Operator).
In addition to this episode, the Ons – Rogo responsible for monitoring the SIN (National Interconnected System) – indicated in a December 2024 report that because of overloads from renewable sources.
According to the magazine specializing in solar energy, Spain was already performing tests to supply its system with 100% renewable energy. On April 16, 2025, the country was able to use only renewable sources in the National Electric System in 1 day for the first time.
The problem in electricity production by renewable sources is that generation is intermittent. Therefore, a lot of electricity can be produced at peak times, and if the cut is not done in part of this energy, the transmission system can be overloaded.
To avoid new risk of blackout, the Brazilian government auctioned 4,471 km concessions in transmission lines for construction, maintenance and operation, of which 3,007 km of new lyes, as well as expansion to 9,840 MW (Megawatts) in conversion to substation. The event was held in 2023 and ratified by Aneel (National Electric Energy Agency) in 2024.
The total investment will be R $ 21.7 billion. The main objective of the auction is to strengthen the country’s electricity transmission network to allow the flow of energy – in the Northeast’s special that has increased the supply of solar and wind power – to the cargo centers in the southeast of the country.
Blackout in Europe
The electric companies of Portugal and Spain started on Monday (28.abr) an emergency recovery plan after a widespread blackout that almost affected the entire Iberian peninsula and part of Europe. The Portuguese (national power grid) and confirmed the collapse in energy supply and stated that complete restoration can take 6 to 10 hours.
The mobile network on the peninsula has also been affected and communication is only possible by mobile data and messaging applications. The circulation of the subway was also interrupted in the Madrid and Lisbon capitals.
The mayor of Madrid (popular party) has asked residents to remain where they are, whenever possible.
“I ask all the residents of Madrid to keep their displacements to the absolute minimum and, if possible, remain where they are. We want to keep all roads cleared”said Martínez-Almeida published on social networks.
Speaking from the city’s Integrated Emergency Security Center, the mayor explained that, in addition to the fall in the operation of traffic lights, tunnels of some highways needed to be banned.
The Madrid government activated the “status 2” From the territorial emergency plan, a measure that indicates a high level of alertness and mobilization to deal with a critical situation, with coordinated actions to restore essential services and ensure public safety in great impact situations.
To date, 3 of the 17 autonomous regions of Spain – Andalusian, Extremadura and Madrid – are in a state of national emergency.
