Julien Nizet / Belgian Presidency of the Council of the European Union
The Minister of Ecological Transition of Spain, Sara Aagesen
The Minister of the Ecological Transition of Spain warned this Sunday that “many days” will be needed to know the origin of the great blackout in the Iberian Peninsula that paralyzed the country on Monday, and maintains open the possibility that a cyber attack had occurred.
In an interview with, Sara Aagesenvice president of the government of Spain and minister of the ecological transition, admitted the possibility of that of Monday was caused by a Anomaly in photovoltaic facilities In the southwest of Spain, according to the Spanish power grid operator, Ree.
However, the minister said that some time will still be necessary until the exact cause of the blackout can be known. “We are talking about many days“, These Sara Aagesen.”All hypotheses are open, including that of an attack Cybernetic.
As for the role that renewable energies could have played in blackout, the minister said that “so far, we do not know what generation facilities have no longer been in the system.”
“Talking about photovoltaic solar energy can be hastyAlthough on the map we can see the different generation technologies in each area. And there is a lot of photovoltaic solar energy in southwest Spain, ”said the minister.
AAGESEN also assured that “Renewable energies are not insecure itself ”and that is“simplistic to point them out as the origin of the incident“.
After the great blackout, several experts point to the imbalance between production and the demand for electricity as the cause of the incident, which is more difficult to correct without adequate technologies in a network where wind and solar energy are more important.
“Renewable energies are giving Spain the possibility of achieving a very important energy independence in a geopolitically vulnerable world. Having your own indigenous energy is critical, ”said the minister.
A Improvement of interconnections with neighboring countriesSince France could also contribute to the stability of the network, according to experts cited by the AFP agency.
In this regard, the minister considered, in this Sunday’s interview, that after the blackout, “The time has come for France to become aware that interconnections have to be done, yes or yes ”to make the peninsula more safely.
