Blackout in Spain: Prime Minister Defends Renewables, Points the Finger Elsewhere

The Largest Power Outage in Spain’s History Sparks Heated Debate on Energy Security and the Future of Renewables

Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez made it clear: renewables are not the problem — the infrastructure failed.

On April 28, 2025, Spain experienced a historic blackout. The outage paralyzed the country, raising concerns about the stability of the power system and triggering a political earthquake. A week after the event, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez addressed the Congress of Deputies to explain what happened.

“We cannot allow a technical mishap to cast doubt on the path Spain has chosen regarding renewable energy. It is not renewables that are the problem — the infrastructure requires modernization,” Sanchez said.

Green Energy as the Foundation of the Transition

In his speech, the prime minister reminded that Spain already obtains more than half of its electricity from renewable sources. On the day of the blackout, the energy mix looked like this:

• Solar energy – 53%
• Wind energy – 11%
• Nuclear and gas energy combined – 15%

Sanchez emphasized that it was not the day with the highest share of renewables, and the blackout was the result of “a concatenation of technical anomalies” which are currently being thoroughly analyzed.

“There is no empirical evidence that the incident was caused by an excess of renewables or a lack of nuclear power,” the prime minister noted, adding that the direction of the transition remains unchanged: “Spain’s energy future will be green or it won’t be at all.”

Political Tensions and Proposal to Stop Nuclear Subsidies

Sanchez also addressed opposition voices demanding a delay in the planned shutdown of nuclear power plants. He proposed that these plants could continue operating — but solely at their owners’ expense, without public funding.

Meanwhile, the leader of the People’s Party, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, accused the government of failing to ensure energy security and announced plans to establish a Senate investigative committee.

Infrastructure and Imports — The Real Sources of the Problem?

The prime minister pointed out that the main issue is not the renewable-based model but outdated energy infrastructure that cannot keep pace with the speed of the transition. He also highlighted the enormous costs of importing raw materials in previous energy models — as much as 42.5 billion euros annually on oil and gas, which he said made the economy uncompetitive.

“That’s twice as much as we spend on unemployment benefits and eight times more than on education,” Sanchez reminded.

Currently, according to the prime minister, Spain boasts some of the lowest electricity prices in Europe, which is attracting investors and supporting the country’s reindustrialization.

Lessons for Poland

The blackout in Spain also sparked discussions in Poland. The country, which also faces challenges related to energy transition, can draw important lessons from the Spanish crisis. It is crucial not only to increase the share of renewables but also to invest in transmission infrastructure and digitalization of the energy system.

As the Polish power system operator notes, without modernization of the grid and replacement of aging power units, the situation across Europe may worsen.