Spain proves renewables are not reliable

Published May 2, 2025 12:01am ET



Spain’s government was forced to declare a national emergency at the end of April when the country’s electric grid blacked out for more than 18 hours. While the precise cause of the blackout has not been confirmed, it is clear that the widespread nature of the failure and its duration are due to Spain’s excessive reliance on renewable energy. The fragility of the country’s electric grid should serve as a warning to the United States that if the Democratic Party and its renewable energy religion regain power in Washington, we will face similar electricity outages nationwide.

On April 22, Spain’s power company boastfully announced that six days earlier, the electric grid ran entirely on renewable energy, including wind, solar, and hydropower. This was not an accident but a policy. Spain has spent billions of dollars on adding wind and solar power sources to the country’s energy portfolio while forcing coal and natural gas plants to shut down. It is one of the many European countries that has set a net-zero greenhouse gas emissions target for 2050. 

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