独家洞察 | 西班牙电网大翻车！暴露城市“韧性”危机

Core Viewpoint - The large-scale power outage in the Iberian Peninsula on April 28, 2023, highlights the challenges faced by the energy transition, particularly the need to maintain sufficient black start capability and flexible load-following resources in the power grid [1][10][13]. Group 1: Incident Overview - The power outage began shortly after 12:30 PM CET, with nearly 15 gigawatts of power supply cut off in a matter of seconds, affecting millions and leading to a 15-hour disruption in some areas [1][3]. - The outage raised concerns about the resilience of the Spanish power grid, with investigations ongoing to determine the cause, although cyberattack speculation has been ruled out by the grid operator [1][10]. Group 2: Power Grid Dynamics - Prior to the outage, the power grid was stable, with no significant anomalies reported, indicating that large-scale outages are often triggered by initial faults leading to cascading failures [6][10]. - Solar power accounted for nearly 58% of generation just before the outage, and its sudden loss had a significant impact on the grid's stability [6][10]. Group 3: Recovery and Challenges - Power plants with black start capability played a crucial role in restoring power, as they can start independently without external grid support, while thermal and hydro resources quickly increased during recovery [6][10]. - The transition to renewable energy sources poses technical challenges in managing a grid that lacks stable support assets, as most renewable energy sources rely on grid frequency signals and cannot independently restart the grid [10][13]. Group 4: Future Implications - Spain has added over 55 gigawatts of renewable energy capacity in the past five years while phasing out 7.4 gigawatts of coal-fired power, with expectations that renewables will supply over 80% of the country's electricity by 2030 [10][13]. - The incident underscores the importance of maintaining a flexible power generation mix, including gas plants and battery storage, to quickly respond to grid disturbances and stabilize frequency [13].