Europe Unplugged

This Week's Trend In Brief:

• When the lights went out across Spain in April, the blackout quickly sparked renewed debate over the costs and tradeoffs of policymakers’ energy transition ambitions and whether infrastructure is keeping pace with the EU’s clean energy goals.

   

• While the cause remains under investigation, the outage reinforced a familiar pattern where blackouts often lead to swift blame on green policies, whether justified or not, leaving energy companies responsible for responding with facts and context.

   

• Amid that scrutiny, Europe has made significant progress on renewables, but getting that power where it needs to go still depends on a grid system many say is lagging behind, one that may require more than $2.3 trillion in upgrades across the EU by 2050.

   

• For public affairs professionals, success in the energy transition means not only managing climate goals but also navigating public expectations around reliability and cost, especially as the price of fixing aging infrastructure may exceed what voters are willing to support.

   

• With summer demand rising and grids under strain on both sides of the Atlantic, energy companies must get ahead of the narrative – engaging early, backing smart policy, and ensuring the public conversation stays grounded in facts, not finger-pointing.

Digging Deeper:

In April, a widespread power outage plunged millions across Spain, Portugal, and parts of France into darkness, and for hours, “key infrastructure was disrupted, lives were put on hold, and the vulnerabilities of Spain’s electricity system were laid bare.” Many across Europe have described the event as a “wake-up call” for EU policymakers to invest more in their countries’ energy grids. Kristian Ruby, the secretary general of the electric industry federation Eurelectric, argued that the blackout should remind the EU and “everybody also in broader society that electricity is the lifeblood of a well-functioning modern society.” Officials, experts, and industry members have since acknowledged the wake-up call, sparking renewed debate over the costs and tradeoffs of policymakers’ energy transition ambitions and whether infrastructure is keeping pace with the EU’s clean energy goals.

While the cause remains under investigation, the outage reinforced a familiar pattern, where blackouts often lead to swift blame on green policies, whether justified or not, leaving energy companies responsible for responding with facts and context. In recent years, Spain has marked several renewable energy milestones by adding the highest-ever increases of solar and renewable energy to the grid. The increases were touted as showing “the significant progress of the ecological transition in Spain,” with reports around the world highlighting the country’s efforts. However, since the blackout, the conversation has pivoted to whether that push towards renewable energy was ultimately responsible for the outage. As we noted several years ago, following Texas’s widespread winter outages, much of the response was spent debating which energy source was to blame and questioning why officials were so unprepared for the crisis. Similar discussions are taking place in Spain, with some blaming the Spanish government’s pursuit of renewables for the blackout. Indeed, similar to Texas, the blackout started a “blackout blame game over green energy.” Public affairs professionals and the companies they represent must be ready with facts to counter the finger-pointing.

Amid that scrutiny, Europe has made significant progress on renewables, but getting that power where it needs to go still depends on a grid system many say is lagging behind. Over the last several years, the European Union has made significant strides in promoting renewable energy, with initiatives such as the European Green Deal and REPowerEU aiming to increase the share of renewable energy to 55% by 2030. These efforts have led to renewables accounting for approximately 47% of the EU’s power mix. However, grid investment across Europe has been lagging behind the addition of renewable energy in recent years, and the European Commission has estimated that more than $2.3 trillion is needed to modernize the EU grid through 2050. For this decade alone, the Commission estimated that the EU needs more than $662 billion for the electric grid in order to transform the dated grids “into smart grids, becoming digital, monitored in real-time, remotely controllable and cybersecure, with research and innovation playing an important role.” Without visible progress on grid modernization, the gap between renewable ambitions and public expectations will only widen, creating both political risk and a strategic challenge for those managing the energy transition.

For public affairs professionals, success in the energy transition means not only managing climate goals but also navigating public expectations around reliability and cost, especially as the price of fixing aging infrastructure may exceed what voters are willing to support. While there is broad support for renewable energy initiatives, as evidenced by a Data for Progress survey indicating that 65% of voters favor increased investment in renewables, there is also apprehension about the financial implications of such investments. Globally, the International Energy Agency estimates that more than $600 billion annually must be directed toward grid upgrades by 2030 to stay on track for net-zero targets, more than double current levels. That scale of spending introduces serious questions about affordability, political feasibility, and voter tolerance for prolonged and expensive infrastructure disruptions. As we have noted before, “Even as voters’ awareness of the climate challenge grows, their willingness to bear the costs demanded of them does not.” As the gap between clean energy ambitions and grid readiness becomes more visible, maintaining public trust will increasingly depend on aligning energy messaging with the infrastructure realities on the ground.

As summer demand surges and grids strain on both sides of the Atlantic, companies must get ahead of the narrative – engaging early, backing smart policy, and ensuring the public conversation stays grounded in facts, not finger-pointing. For companies pursuing energy investments on either side of the pond, this moment highlights the need to strike a balance between ambition and realism, acknowledging not only the promise of the energy transition but also the infrastructure and public confidence necessary to support it. Political and reputational risks will continue to grow if grid reliability falters, meaning industry stakeholders must stay ahead of the narrative, championing smart policy and practical solutions while ensuring that facts, not finger-pointing, shape the conversation.

Trends in Energy is your weekly look at key trends affecting the energy industry, brought to you by the competitive intelligence experts at Delve. As the political and regulatory landscape continues to shift, reach out to learn how our insights can help you navigate these challenges.

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