{"id":420753,"date":"2026-01-10T14:04:44","date_gmt":"2026-01-10T13:04:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=420753"},"modified":"2026-01-10T14:06:03","modified_gmt":"2026-01-10T13:06:03","slug":"when-the-lights-go-out-why-the-energy-transition-has-no-start-button-in-the-event-of-a-blackout","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=420753","title":{"rendered":"When the lights go out: Why the energy transition has no start button in the event of a blackout"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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From The KlimaNachrichten<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"An<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

A Germany-wide power outage is not a light switch problem \u2013 but the moment when the physical limits of green energy policy become ruthlessly visible<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Who does not remember the promises? The energy transition should not only save the climate but also guarantee security of supply. Wind, sun and batteries \u2013 the holy triumvirate of the green future. Decentralized, democratic, digital. What is often concealed is that in the event of a nationwide blackout, this future system will turn into a pile of expensive electronics that do not produce a single volt. Not because the wind doesn’t blow or the sun doesn’t shine \u2013 but because the physical foundations are missing to bring the grid back to life in the first place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The current power outage in Berlin, which paralyzed about 50,000 households for four days, provides a taste of what is in store for Germany when the last conventional power plants are taken off the grid. And no, it’s not about scaremongering \u2013 it’s about physics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The grid is not a power distributor, but a machine<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

First, let’s look at the technical reality of a blackout. The European power grid runs at a grid frequency of 50 hertz \u2013 a precisely synchronized machine in which all generators rotate in unison. After a total collapse, there is: no reference frequency, no voltage, no communication over the network. Everything has to be synchronized from scratch, step by step, like a house of cards that you build in absolute darkness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is not a “reboot” as you know it from the computer. It is the laborious reconstruction of a highly complex system, lasting several hours to several days, in which the slightest miscalculation leads to an immediate renewed shutdown.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Black Start: The Underrated Ability<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Only a few power plants can start without an external power supply. According to the Federal Network Agency, there are 174 black-start capable turbines with a capacity of at least 10 MW (as of 2020) in Germany \u2013 sounds like a lot, but of these, only 26 are actually earmarked by the transmission system operators for grid reconstruction. This is the strategic reserve for an emergency.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The following are primarily:<\/p>\n\n\n\n