Spain and Portugal have suffered the worst eclipse in living memory in Europe this week. About 55 million people were affected and this lasted more than half a day. Some blame the renewable energy sources and the goals of net zero emissions, as the two countries are proud of high levels of wind and solar energy in their electrical network and lead Europe to technology. But is this true?
What happened?
Some initial reports suggest that the “rare atmospheric phenomenon” may be guilty, citing a statement attributed to the Portuguese network of the Ren network. In extreme time, such as storms and heat waves, cables that carry electricity over the head can hesitate, which can cause problems with wires, especially the older and less well maintained equipment. However, the weather in Spain was normal on Monday. On Tuesday, Rehn denied that he was responsible for the statement, but did not give further details.
The Portuguese government has accused an inexplicable problem of transmitting energy. “In Portugal, we have no information related to a cyber-attack or hostile act at this stage,” said government spokesman Antonio Lyitao Amaro, who told CNN Portugal that there seemed to be a problem in the surrender of Spain.
Spain pointed a finger when he breaks down in his relationship with France. Experts said it could take days to identify the cause.
Related: “People were astonished”: How a massive eclipse unfolds in Spain and Portugal
Has he played renewable energy?
Spain and Portugal lead the EU to renewable energy sources and supply about 80% of their electricity from solar and wind when the eclipse hits Monday.
Some commentators speculate that the network can be overwhelmed by the amount of wind and sun available, as renewable energy sources are more survey than other forms of energy and sudden fluctuations in the sun or wind can cause problems.
However, this does not seem to be the case. Daniel Miir, a Senior European Energy Analyst at S&P Global, said: “Nature and the scale of interruption makes it unlikely that the volume of renewable energy sources, as the Spanish network is more often subject to very large volumes of such production.”
The Spanish network operator said on Tuesday that there were two events similar to the loss of electricity production, followed by a huge loss of renewable energy that destabilizes the network. They said it was “very possible” that the first of these events was a sudden loss of solar energy.
Are renewable energy-based errors more wrong?
The eclipses can happen regardless of what type of energy supplies the network. In 2003, there was a significant eclipse in London when the network was mainly powered by fossil fuels. It is caused by a failed transformer and incorrectly installed protective relay.
The UK’s eclipse in 2019 was caused by a damage to the wind farm equipment and a gas power plant, which both happened when the lightning strike struck a transmission chain north of London. In both cases, engineering damage created problems.
In 2003, the problem of the hydroelectric power line between Italy and Switzerland caused a major interruption across the Italian Peninsula for about 12 hours.
Keith Bell, a professor of electronic and electrical engineering at the University of Stratclid, said: “Events of this scale have happened in many places around the world over the years, in electricity systems using fossil fuels, nuclear, hydro or variable renewable probability.
The Spanish lattice undergoes superstructures as it is unable to carry the necessary renewable energy. Experts said GRID upgrades did not coincide with the pace of renewable energy sources online.
Pratheeksha Ramdas, a senior analyzer at Rystad Energy, said: “We cannot say that the strong wind and solar energy causes the eclipse -in the days before we see much more renewable sources. But larger quantities of resumption can cause more difficulties to cause more difficulties to cause more. grate that can help stabilize the network.
What about inertia?
Electric networks with gas and nuclear energy have high inertia, which is a term for network resistance to frequency changes. Renewable networks have low inertia, which, when not disagreed, can lead to less durable to sudden shocks.
David Breishaw, a professor of climate science and energy meteorology at University Readings, said: “Technical changes mean that the system now has less inertia, so the imbalances need to be corrected more quickly.
“What stands out is that the electricity system is changing rapidly – conditioned by renewable energy sources, electrification and massive investment. Still, there are limited research on how climate change will affect future energy systems or how to design networks that are really healthy.”
Related: Spain and Portuguese power outage: What caused it and did you have a cyber-attack?
How can these problems be mitigated?
Battery storage and other technologies such as super condensers and flywheel can replace traditional inertia forms by providing capacity in the event of a sudden change in frequency. They can provide a room for breathing the operator in times of shock.
So, if large volumes of renewable energy sources will be loaded on the network, it must be properly designed and invested.
The grilles should be resistant to eclipses, but governments should balance risk costs as disasters resistant disasters is expensive. Electricity networks are connected to reduce costs and increase reliability, but this can mean a problem in one area can cause domino effect throughout the area.
Prof Janusz Bialek of Imperial College London Said: “The usual mechanism is of a fault causing tripping of a line, WHICH CAUSE ENTHER LINE LINE LINE AREST, and HEYN Trips Across A Network. ONLY ONE ELEMENT FAILING, AS The likelihood of two or more failures happening at the same time is very low and the protection against them would be extremely expensive.