Europe’s power grid requires a substantial retrofit to avoid a repeat of past blackouts. This urgency was particularly illustrated when a major collapse affected Spain and Portugal on April 28, 2025. The subsequent deadly accident exposed the critical state of the continent’s electricity infrastructure. Much of it is aged beyond its useful life and ill-prepared to meet the rapidly increasing demands of today’s energy needs.
In light of the blackout, Spain has announced plans to phase out coal and nuclear power, aiming for a greener energy future. Due to this, the country set a new record, reaching 56% of its power generation from renewable sources in 2024. Yet this unprecedented deluge of new renewable energy, mainly wind and solar, stands in contrast to the painfully slow advancement of critical grid improvements.
Yet half of Europe’s high-voltage power grid lines are over 40 years old. Even as it quickly becomes a twenty-first century megacity, much of its infrastructure dates from the twentieth. This aging system struggles to accommodate the surge in green energy production and the rising electricity demands across the continent. According to many analysts, it will take trillions of dollars in new investment just to fully modernize our electric grid.
The European Union (EU) is experiencing this perfect storm when it comes to its electrical grid. In fact, since 2010, global investments in renewable energy have almost doubled. $300 billion a year is the high-water mark for investment in grid infrastructure. Just last month, European companies committed €80 billion ($90.5 billion) to grid improvements. It’s not enough—experts are warning that this figure needs to increase to at least €100 billion per year to avoid future blackouts.
To add fuel to the fire, Spain has just announced plans to close all seven of its nuclear reactors by 2035. Portugal’s dependence on just two backup plants leaves it especially exposed to failures when disasters strike. The lack of connections between Spain, Portugal, and other grids limits their ability to draw on external support when needed.
“The blackout was a wake-up call. It showed that the need to modernise and reinforce Europe’s electricity grid is urgent and unavoidable,” said Kristina Ruby, Secretary General at Eurelectric. This feeling on the ground captures the hard-won wisdom of academia, industry and advocates that immediate and bold steps are needed to protect our communities from future shocks.