Spain Blackout, reading between the lines.

Solar was not the cause, but a major contributor

The solar PV panels were not the cause but how they were interconnected to the grid looks to be a major contributing cause.

The report from the government of Spain is short on details and root causes. It points to control issues during the run up to the blackout, curtailment is not mentioned. Sudden losses of distributed generation (in one case 117 MW at once). Loss of solar is mentioned several times, also mentioned is visibility of generation. Spanish rules for interconnections are similar to the US and Canadian rules for interconnections.

We don’t have all the data and the ENTSO-E investigation is still ongoing. The Spanish report points to things that North America needs to do (some of which FERC in Order 901 started):

1)     Every interconnection needs to be visible to the grid operator (DSO or TSO)

2)     Specific system models for transient and dynamic models need to be required from system owners/installers, that means PSCAD/PSEE type models. Manufacturers of inverters need to provide their inverter models to the owners and the DSO/TSO operators. This need to be retroactive.

3)     The DSO/TSO needs to be able, directly, to change power angles and curtail systems.

4)     Storage, wind, and other forms of interconnection need to be included in these requirements.

5)     Changing inverters and other active components need DSO/TSO approval in advance, once they have the new specific model of the interconnected system in hand.

6)     Both limited export and no export systems need utility grade relays installed for over/under current/voltage. Those interconnected systems both need to follow ride though requirements and have less than 2 seconds of inadvertent export.

7)     Full liability for limited and no-export systems or failure to respond to command signals should result in full liability being assigned to the owner of the interconnected system.

8)     All interconnected systems should be able to provide primary frequency response.

These requirements should be met by ALL interconnected systems.

DOE should be funded to test all inverters for operational characteristic.

UL encouraged to update UL 1471 and UL 3141 for the inverters and UL 3000 for interconnected systems.

IEEE should be encouraged and supported to improve IEEE 1547, 2800, and create a set of standards for the complete interconnected system.

State commission should be encouraged to look at their interconnection rules.

AHJ inspectors should be required to take rigorous training on interconnected systems.

Installers should be required to be licensed to install and commission new systems.

Yes, this sounds harsh, and overly demanding, but if we are going to zero, these changes are required.

Once ENTSO-E is done and the report is issued, there may be modifications to these recommendations.