How much did the Iberian blackout really cost – and what could have been done with that money

Author: Dr. Nenad Končar, M.Sc.Eng.
Date: April 30, 2025

€1.6 billion in damages – in Spain alone
According to preliminary estimates from the Spanish employers’ association CEOE, the damage caused by the recent massive power outage in Spain is at least €1.6 billion.
This includes:

• disruptions to industrial production,
• logistics delays,
• collapse of communication and transport systems,
• damage to hospitals and data centers.
  And this is only a preliminary estimate. Portugal has not yet published its numbers, and France and Andorra were also partially affected.

What could have been done with that money?
The question arises naturally:
Could the damage have been prevented by smart investment in grid resilience – specifically, in battery systems?
The answer is: yes, many times over.

How much does a serious battery system for grid stabilization cost?
Adriadiesel is developing containerized battery power plants based on second-life EV batteries.
With €1.6 billion, it would be possible to build:

• more than 10 national battery systems,
• with excess capacity for selling reactive power,
• black start functionality,
• and revenues from grid services.

Not just a cost — but an investment
Battery systems are not passive costs. They:

• participate in the frequency containment reserve (FCR) market,
• offer balancing and peak shaving services,
• sell power when expensive, charge when cheap,
• help operators and industries save money.
  Estimated return on investment: 4–6 years with smart management.

Time for a new approach to grid security
Instead of recording billions in damages every few years, the question should be reversed:
Why not invest €100 million in advance – to avoid €1.6 billion in losses later?
Decentralized battery systems:

• protect critical nodes,
• enable faster recovery,
• create new green capacity from existing batteries.

Conclusion
The April 2025 blackout cost as much as a complete national battery defense — yet nothing was built.
It’s time Europe — especially the Iberian Peninsula — stopped relying on luck and started investing in technically proven, economically viable, and readily available solutions.

Adriadiesel already offers ready-to-deploy modules today.
For partnerships, technical details, and demo systems — contact us at: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Confirmed: Two separate incidents occurring seconds apart

• Red Eléctrica confirms that two unlikely yet causally linked incidents occurred, one of which shut down the system while the other caused a cascading supply failure.
• Frequency loss and power outages affected multiple countries.

Suspected disruption in solar energy production in southwestern Spain

• Eduardo Prieto (Red Eléctrica): The epicenter of the issue was in the southwestern region of Spain.
• “Very likely” caused by a sudden change in output from solar power plants, particularly due to instability in solar irradiance (cloud cover, sudden winds).

Grid-forming inverters not present (or inactive)

• Implied: Inverters that should stabilize the grid (reactive power, inertia) were unable to assume that function.

Power outages extended to Portugal, France, Andorra

• Prime Minister Sánchez and Red Eléctrica confirmed: more than 57 million people were affected.
• France and Morocco assisted in power restoration (highlighting the importance of interconnected transmission systems).

Prof. Branko Grisogono:

• Explained that sudden atmospheric fluctuations (wind, temperature) may cause mechanical vibrations in transmission lines, which in extreme cases can affect grid stability.
• Rare atmospheric phenomena can cause “transmission oscillations” – consistent with the “oscillation” reported by Red Eléctrica.

Key role of battery energy storage systems
In the context of the above, Adriadiesel’s battery container systems can:

• absorb energy surpluses during oscillations (preventing overvoltage),
• react rapidly (within milliseconds) to power loss,
• provide reactive power to maintain voltage,
• offer black-start capability for isolated regions.