{"id":409090,"date":"2025-10-19T11:58:13","date_gmt":"2025-10-19T09:58:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=409090"},"modified":"2025-10-19T11:58:15","modified_gmt":"2025-10-19T09:58:15","slug":"europes-aging-grids-buckle-under-renewable-energy-demands","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=409090","title":{"rendered":"Europe\u2019s Aging Grids Buckle Under Renewable Energy Demands"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"A<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From OilPrice.com<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

By\u00a0Haley Zaremba<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The world\u2019s power grids need a major upgrade to keep pace with growing rates of electrification, and the ever-increasing energy demands of big data. A cleaner energy landscape means a whole lot more electricity demand, as we switch from gas-powered vehicles and appliances to newer, cleaner models that need to plug into the grid to charge. This means that expanding grid capacity and making our aging grids smarter and more flexible will be essential to maintaining energy security for the future \u2013 but grid infrastructure remains woefully neglected, and we\u2019re already starting to see some of the fallout.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTo achieve countries\u2019 national energy and climate goals, the world\u2019s electricity use needs to grow 20% faster in the next decade than it did in the previous one,\u201d states a 2023 report<\/a> from the International Energy Agency. As a result, grids need to expand at an unprecedented rate. \u201cReaching national goals also means adding or refurbishing a total of over 80 million kilometres of grids by 2040, the equivalent of the entire existing global grid,\u201d the report goes on to say.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Failure to prioritize investing in grid modernization and expansion poses a major threat to the clean energy transition and to energy security as grids become increasingly reliant on renewable energy sources. Solar and wind energy are variable, meaning that their production levels wax and wane according to factors that have nothing to do with demand trends. Plus, energy production is increasingly dispersed, especially so thanks to the proliferation of residential solar panels. These factors introduce an extra level of complexity for grids that were designed with just a few major utilities in mind, and with only one direction of energy flow. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

All of this is already leading to some hiccups for grid stability. In Europe, where renewable expansion and EV adoption have soared, critical grid congestion and catastrophic blackouts\u00a0have become an increasing issue<\/a>. At the end of April, cascading grid failures in Spain and Portugal resulted in the worst blackout in European history and highlighted how woefully insufficient grid investment has been to date. At the time,\u00a0 Eurelectric reported that the \u201cextraordinary event\u201d in Iberia served as \u201ca stark reminder that the grid is the backbone of our society. With electricity playing an increasingly important role in our society, we need to create all the conditions to enable a secure electricity supply.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Unfortunately, many countries are now facing the consequences of failing to create all of those conditions. In the Netherlands, massive success with clean energy capacity installation and EV adoption without commensurate grid infrastructure expansion has resulted in a new norm of power cuts and energy consumption austerity measures. And it\u2019s going to take a lot of money and time to fix the issue. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“They have a grid crisis because they haven’t invested enough in their distribution networks, in their transmission networks, so they are facing bottlenecks everywhere, and it will take years and billions of dollars to solve this,” Damien Ernst, professor of electrical engineering at Belgium’s Liege University, recently told<\/a> the BBC. The problem is causing ripples throughout the Netherlands economy. New housing, for example, is now facing long waiting lists in order to connect to grids that are already operating over maximum capacity. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But the issue is not limited to the Netherlands. Much of Europe has neglected to properly invest in grid infrastructure as a part of national clean energy planning. “We have an enormous amount of solar panels being installed, and they are installed at a rate that is much, much too high for the grid to be able to accommodate,” Ernst went on to say.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By Haley Zaremba for Oilprice.com<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

Haley Zaremba<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Haley Zaremba is a writer and journalist based in Mexico City. She has extensive experience writing and editing environmental\u00a0features, travel pieces, local news in the Bay Area, and music\/culture reviews.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The world\u2019s power grids need a major upgrade to keep pace with growing rates of electrification, and the ever-increasing energy demands of big data. A cleaner energy landscape means a whole lot more electricity demand, as we switch from gas-powered vehicles and appliances to newer, cleaner models that need to plug into the grid to charge. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":121246920,"featured_media":409094,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","_crdt_document":"","advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[691818279,691821808,691818618,691818583,691838936,691819094,691838935],"class_list":{"0":"post-409090","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","6":"hentry","7":"category-uncategorized","8":"tag-blackouts","9":"tag-energy-security","10":"tag-energy-transition","11":"tag-europe","12":"tag-grid-infrastructure","13":"tag-renewable-green-energy","14":"tag-worlds-electricity","16":"fallback-thumbnail"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/AQMgyZucF4ivRfKon4nFCQPP0i3zyRlr71SKE2Bs3u2vArIANv_gLlo5wWp6Q1wPjbkluE5BE3G0-8mwjMoAoFAZMwhwMiJ0zVAWHlYMp_QU1AiaDv-fGx0sxeRUxUsbupUWJW6v-OvmHgHeV9dOdPxUUlootQ.jpeg?fit=1280%2C1280&ssl=1","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/paxLW1-1Iqe","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":422508,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=422508","url_meta":{"origin":409090,"position":0},"title":"Net Zero and British Grid: Dire Straits (Kathryn\u00a0Porter)","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"22\/01\/2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Electrification has become the default answer to almost every energy and climate question. Heat? Electrify it. Transport? Electrify it. Industry? Electrify it. In policy circles, electrification is often treated as a frictionless substitute for fossil fuels: cleaner, simpler, and largely inevitable. In this new report I take a look at\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"Deindustrialisation\"","block_context":{"text":"Deindustrialisation","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=deindustrialisation"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/AQOFNEWN6Jh4v_DISwvyCYzWIInvgKtBQWUz_9b0wKALXouVzJ3qwwPxtQYrLBVF_fm8_BabbCjubgiJfNrYf7oTm7VlRPyHcgfL017VZVLD_FoubG6Cyjb_7FAFGzSV.jpeg?fit=1200%2C671&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/AQOFNEWN6Jh4v_DISwvyCYzWIInvgKtBQWUz_9b0wKALXouVzJ3qwwPxtQYrLBVF_fm8_BabbCjubgiJfNrYf7oTm7VlRPyHcgfL017VZVLD_FoubG6Cyjb_7FAFGzSV.jpeg?fit=1200%2C671&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/AQOFNEWN6Jh4v_DISwvyCYzWIInvgKtBQWUz_9b0wKALXouVzJ3qwwPxtQYrLBVF_fm8_BabbCjubgiJfNrYf7oTm7VlRPyHcgfL017VZVLD_FoubG6Cyjb_7FAFGzSV.jpeg?fit=1200%2C671&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/AQOFNEWN6Jh4v_DISwvyCYzWIInvgKtBQWUz_9b0wKALXouVzJ3qwwPxtQYrLBVF_fm8_BabbCjubgiJfNrYf7oTm7VlRPyHcgfL017VZVLD_FoubG6Cyjb_7FAFGzSV.jpeg?fit=1200%2C671&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/AQOFNEWN6Jh4v_DISwvyCYzWIInvgKtBQWUz_9b0wKALXouVzJ3qwwPxtQYrLBVF_fm8_BabbCjubgiJfNrYf7oTm7VlRPyHcgfL017VZVLD_FoubG6Cyjb_7FAFGzSV.jpeg?fit=1200%2C671&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":199222,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=199222","url_meta":{"origin":409090,"position":1},"title":"WSJ: Power Grid Operators Warn Renewable Energy Could Cause Blackouts","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"10\/05\/2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Essay by Eric Worrall h\/t Dr. Willie Soon; \u201c\u2026 The challenge is that wind and solar farms\u2014which are among the cheapest forms of power generation\u2014don\u2019t produce electricity at all times\u00a0\u2026\u201d Electricity Shortage Warnings Grow Across U.S.Power-grid operators caution that electricity supplies aren\u2019t keeping up with demand amid transition to cleaner\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/00Unicorn-Solar-Wind_4.webp?fit=870%2C508&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/00Unicorn-Solar-Wind_4.webp?fit=870%2C508&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/00Unicorn-Solar-Wind_4.webp?fit=870%2C508&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/00Unicorn-Solar-Wind_4.webp?fit=870%2C508&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":270885,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=270885","url_meta":{"origin":409090,"position":2},"title":"Right, Epoch Times, the EPA\u2019s New Rules Will Compromise the Electric Power Grid","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"01\/08\/2023","format":false,"excerpt":"A recent article in the\u00a0Epoch Times, \u201cEPA\u2019s Power Grid Assumptions Are Disconnected From Reality,\u201d identifies problems with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency\u2019s (EPA) mass-electrification plans that will increasingly compromise the U.S. power grid. 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The evidence suggests that the EPA\u2019s and other agencies\u2019 efforts to expand the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"Electric Power Grid\"","block_context":{"text":"Electric Power Grid","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=electric-power-grid"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/0shutterstock_495170521.webp?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/0shutterstock_495170521.webp?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/0shutterstock_495170521.webp?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/0shutterstock_495170521.webp?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, 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Regulatory Authority Says California Grid at Risk of Energy Shortfalls","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"29\/12\/2024","format":false,"excerpt":"California has long been the\u00a0poster child\u00a0for bad energy policy. Its policy and regulatory responses to climate change have contributed to energy prices there being higher than in any state outside of Hawaii, and power shortfalls and blackouts in California have become a regular feature of life there each summer. As\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"California\"","block_context":{"text":"California","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=california"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/0FG_windmills_2015_11_27-_FG39382-Edit.jpg?fit=1200%2C550&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/0FG_windmills_2015_11_27-_FG39382-Edit.jpg?fit=1200%2C550&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/0FG_windmills_2015_11_27-_FG39382-Edit.jpg?fit=1200%2C550&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/0FG_windmills_2015_11_27-_FG39382-Edit.jpg?fit=1200%2C550&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/0FG_windmills_2015_11_27-_FG39382-Edit.jpg?fit=1200%2C550&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/409090","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/121246920"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=409090"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/409090\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":409096,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/409090\/revisions\/409096"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/409094"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=409090"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=409090"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=409090"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}