Redefining Energy Resilience in a Carbon-Neutral Era

In April 2025, Spain experienced one of its most severe blackouts in recent memory, leaving more than five million people without electricity for several hours. The incident underscores the need for investment in grid modernization, storage systems, and risk preparedness, as the country navigates the transition towards a more sustainable energy future.

The blackout was triggered by a technical fault on a high-voltage transmission line during peak demand and low renewable output. This event has revealed weaknesses in Spain's energy security, emphasizing the importance of the "Four As" of energy security: availability, accessibility, affordability, and acceptability.

Availability means ensuring a reliable physical supply of energy to meet demand from various sources, including renewables. For Spain, this involves managing the intermittent nature of renewables like solar and wind by expanding energy storage and diversifying supply sources to maintain constant supply.

Accessibility refers to the infrastructure for delivering energy—such as Spain’s electricity grids—and ensuring these are modern, resilient, and capable of integrating decentralized renewable generation. Improving grid infrastructure and reducing vulnerabilities like cyber threats are key.

Affordability ensures energy remains economically accessible to consumers despite the transition costs associated with expanding renewable energy. Spain must balance subsidies, price regulation, and market mechanisms to keep renewable energy competitive and avoid price shocks.

Acceptability addresses social and environmental impacts, including public acceptance of renewable projects. In Spain, engaging communities, ensuring transparency, and complying with environmental standards are essential to maintain trust during the renewable transition.

The Council of Ministers of Spain, the International Energy Agency (IEA), and the European Network of Transmission System Operators for Electricity (ENTSO-E) have all emphasized these aspects. Spain’s experience highlights challenges such as grid stability due to intermittent renewables (availability), the need for modernizing and expanding grid infrastructure (accessibility), managing costs and market impacts (affordability), and addressing public concerns to enhance social license (acceptability).

Renewable energy sources are central to the global energy transition. While they help reduce fossil fuel dependence (improving geopolitical energy security), they also introduce dependencies on imported clean technologies and components, a new factor impacting availability and affordability within Europe, including Spain.

The Council of Engineers for the Energy Transition (CEET), operating under the auspices of the United Nations Secretary-General, advises on engineering solutions for achieving net-zero emissions by 2050. CEET's reports have highlighted major barriers to scaling clean energy, including insufficient financing, skills gaps, fragmented regulation, and the absence of common technical standards across countries.

Governments will need to mobilize public and private investment, modernize regulations, and strengthen cross-border cooperation to meet the challenges ahead. Poorly planned integration of renewable energy can expose short-term vulnerabilities. Public engagement and equitable access must remain at the heart of energy policy.

Energy security is evolving to include the need for climate goals and technological change in the interpretation of the Four As - availability, accessibility, affordability, and acceptability. The Council of Engineers for the Energy Transition provides globally informed, locally relevant advice on navigating the engineering challenges of the energy transition.

The article was originally published under Creative Commons by 360infoTM.

[1] Council of Ministers of Spain, International Energy Agency, European Network of Transmission System Operators for Electricity, et al. (2025). Report on the Blackout in Spain. [3] Council of Engineers for the Energy Transition. (2025). Barriers to Scaling Clean Energy.

The blackout in Spain in April 2025 emphasized the importance of ensuring a reliable energy supply, as Spain navigates its transition to a more sustainable energy future.
The Four As of energy security - availability, accessibility, affordability, and acceptability - are crucial in this transition, especially in managing intermittent renewable energy sources like solar and wind.
Improved grid infrastructure, energy storage, and engaging communities are key to addressing shortcomings in energy security and ensuring social and environmental impacts are managed.
The Council of Engineers for the Energy Transition has highlighted major barriers to scaling clean energy, including insufficient financing, skills gaps, fragmented regulation, and the absence of common technical standards.
Governments will need to mobilize public and private investment, modernize regulations, and strengthen cross-border cooperation to meet the challenges of scaling clean energy for net-zero emissions by 2050.
Poor planning can expose short-term vulnerabilities, so public engagement and equitable access must remain at the heart of energy policy.
Renewable energy sources play a central role in the global energy transition, helping reduce fossil fuel dependence while introducing dependencies on imported clean technologies and components.
Science, technology, policy-and-legislation, business, finance, and environmental-science will all play essential roles in orchestrating this transformation, as evidenced by the International Energy Agency, the European Network of Transmission System Operators for Electricity, and the Council of Ministers of Spain.
The article on Spain's blackout highlights the interconnected nature of global energy security, energy transition, and climate-change through the perspective of grid modernization, storage systems, and risk preparedness, providing an important case study in the general news landscape.