[News] Spanish power cut

Bozza said:

I don't really understand this inertia and power grids stuff, but reading a lot similar to this...

"Wow! I know this is actually a really horrible event but on some level I can’t help but be excited as a grid enthusiast. The power outages in Spain and environs are so bad that they require a black start!​

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Think of a grid as a house of cards that constantly has to get regenerated. Even when we get awful blackouts like the 2021 Texas power crisis, the grid operators kept the heart of this “house of cards” standing. This meant that as power generating resources came back online they can be joined to the grid with minimal fuss.​

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But if the ENTIRE house of cards fall down and you essentially don’t have a minimal functional grid to join the power plants to…this is what you call a black start. I’ve never followed one in real time before.​

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PVs: hero or villain?​

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The cause of this outage is still murky but I’ve started hearing some murmurs that the lack of inertia on the Spanish grid might be a cause. What is inertia? It’s a difficult property to explain. Think about the force that keeps bringing you back to center as your bike veers one way or the other.​

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On a grid inertia with its salutary stabilizing property is naturally provided by big spinning things: turbines, flywheels. They are not provided by photovoltaics. So a grid high in photovoltaics and low in inertia could indeed be more vulnerable.​

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But we don’t know what the cause of the blackout actually is, and ironically I read the photovoltaics are the only power still running on the grids right now.​

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How does a black start happen? You need a station that’s black-start capable. I think that’s gotta be a big fossil plant? But it will be an arduous process and I’m glad it didn’t happen in the winter in a cold country or people would be dying."​

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portlock seagull said:

Well, that has been exciting! Now down coast in Malaga, but last night entire town was blacked out bar a few Hotels with generators.

Petrol restricted to £30 Euro's max today. Police positioned near pumps to quell any argiebargie. Cash was king, long queues for ATMs and lots people got stroppy about the smallest of things given circumstances. Has been a fascinating people watch in this respect and I’m now more than ever convinced that in the event of a nuclear war, some people would still be complaining about no ice in their drinks. The fact it was declared a state emergency and everyone was trying to do their level best in the chaos didn’t cut it with some people!

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Boroseagull said:

No problem in Malaga, filled up at Carrefour, Los Patios, with 63 euros worth. No queues, no restrictions.

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portlock seagull said:

Went past there earlier, thanks for the heads up. Need to fill up later, and sounds like Malaga is now largely back up to speed.

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Bozza said:

I don't really understand this inertia and power grids stuff, but reading a lot similar to this...

" and ironically I read the photovoltaics are the only power still running on the grids right now."​

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RandyWanger said:

Manchester has gone down

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Stumpy Tim said:

Good. My wife is headed to our place there tomorrow. I could do with her out the house for a week

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Herne Hill Seagull said:

Power went down at 12:33 yesterday and came back on at 8am today, in my case. As for all the conspiracy theories, I think sometimes the official line doesn't help. A few weeks back we were all told by official channels to keep three days' worth of non-perishable food and water around in case of unspecified potential 'attacks'. Then Sanchez says, in a speech which most people only heard live if they had an analogue radio, and then was spread around by word of mouth - famously dangerous - that the government was liaising with NATO - he did not mention the power companies in that specific context. Now the official line is that it wasn't an attack, but most people have already made up their minds.

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