Green energy agenda causes great blackouts

(MENAFN) Karin Kneissl argues that the recent ten-hour blackout on the Iberian Peninsula is a direct consequence of the green energy agenda, exacerbated by weather conditions. While renewable energy sources like wind and solar are championed by countries like Spain and Germany, they face critical challenges when the sun doesn't shine, and the wind doesn't blow. In these situations, coal becomes the backup option in the absence of nuclear power or natural gas, particularly after the disruption of Russian gas supplies.

However, Kneissl highlights that the issue isn’t so much the generation of energy, but rather the transmission of it. The EU's electrical grid, largely constructed in the 1950s and 1960s, was not designed to handle the current, rapidly increasing energy demands. When Germany's former Chancellor Angela Merkel initiated the ambitious energy transition, plans were made to build thousands of kilometers of new electrical highways, but these plans were never fully realized due to lack of funding and administrative delays.

This shortfall in grid development has left the existing infrastructure unable to handle the surge in energy production, especially as the push for electrifying all sectors, particularly transportation, has intensified. Electric vehicles were meant to replace traditional cars, but consumer interest has waned, and the expected demand for electricity has not materialized as anticipated.

The current European electrical grid, which spans from Turkey to North Africa, operates on alternating current with a frequency of 50 Hertz. If there is an overload, the grid risks destabilizing, potentially causing a domino effect of blackouts across multiple countries. The Iberian Peninsula, which has limited interconnectors to the rest of Europe, faces particular vulnerability, with some suggesting that more interconnectors could worsen the situation by spreading the risk to even more nations.

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