Spain is about to face the challenge of a "black start"

Original Article ↗ Hacker News Discussion ↗

What “black start” means in this case

  • Some argue Spain’s event was not a true black start because total generation never went to zero and the grid remained partly energized via domestic generation and imports.
  • Others counter that “black start” is a procedure, not a binary condition: when the grid fragments into islands and some are dark, black-start-capable plants and procedures are still used to re-energize and resynchronize.
  • There is criticism that the article may overstate the “black start” label, but agreement that restoration still required complex coordination.

Restoration performance and unknown root cause

  • Reported generation dropped from ~32 GW to ~8 GW; the grid was ~99% restored in about 12 hours.
  • Some media initially suggested “days to weeks,” but grid operator guidance reportedly said 6–10 hours, which matched reality.
  • The specific initiating failure is described as unclear; commenters expect logs and trip data to clarify later.

Grid stability, inertia, and renewables

  • One camp blames increasing penetration of renewables without sufficient synchronous “spinning mass” for reduced stability, arguing that compensating devices (synchronous condensers, similar) have lagged deployment.
  • Others push back, noting modern inverters and batteries can provide “synthetic inertia” and grid-forming capabilities, citing real-world examples elsewhere.
  • There’s an extended technical debate on:
    • Why inverter-dominated grids are harder to coordinate over large distances and with propagation delays.
    • Whether a global or radio-based 50 Hz reference would meaningfully solve phase and load-balancing issues.
    • The difficulty of coordinating many distributed inverters versus a few large synchronous machines.

Batteries, storage, and economics

  • Batteries are seen as excellent for grid support and peak smoothing, but some note current costs make them too expensive for deep multi-day “storage.”
  • Others argue that when compared to pumped hydro (including costly recent projects), batteries may already be competitive for some roles.

Safety, islanding, and control

  • Today’s grid-tied inverters are deliberately prevented from energizing dead lines (anti-islanding) to protect workers and avoid uncontrolled islands.
  • Commenters outline potential future architectures for intentional islanding and inverter-based black starts, but emphasize complexity, interoperability testing, and utility risk tolerance.

Social and human aspects of the blackout

  • Firsthand accounts from Barcelona describe 10+ hours without power, rapid spread of rumors (widespread European failure, geopolitical causes), and visible anxiety.
  • Others note the unexpectedly positive side: socializing in streets and bars, reduced phone use, and reflections on how quickly misinformation and panic can propagate with partial communications.

Industrial and critical loads

  • Discussion touches on energy-intensive continuous processes (glass, aluminum, semiconductors) that can be badly damaged by outages.
  • Such plants often cluster near highly reliable generation (nuclear, hydro) or get treated as critical loads in restoration and black-start planning.