Space observes global power outage, causing widespread darkness
Space satellites, led by NASA's Suomi-NPP, NOAA-20, and NOAA-21, provided a birds-eye view of the widespread power outage in Spain and Portugal, also known as the 2025 Iberian Peninsula blackout.
On April 29, these satellites, orbiting the Earth from pole to pole, made six passes over Spain and Portugal between dusk and dawn. Each pass captured an instant image of the evolving power grid situation, offering a chronology and mapping of the blackout. The first orbital images at dusk revealed the initial outages, with successive images showing the gradual restoration of power supply, culminating in almost total recovery around 05:00 (04:00 in Lisbon).
Alejandro Sánchez de Miguel, a researcher at the Andalusian Institute of Astrophysics (IAA-CSIC), explained that the diagrammed green spots in the images represent power outages, while the white dots indicate areas with stable power. This distribution was consistent with reports from energy companies, reflecting the gradually returning normalcy.
Space-based monitoring tools like these can be instrumental in assessing infrastructure resilience, prioritizing repairs, and facilitating emergency responses. The European Space Agency (ESA) asserts that this incident underscores the utility of such tools.
The European Network of Transmission System Managers for Electricity (ENTSO-E) has launched an investigative committee to analyze the causes of this blackout, which left Portugal and Spain without power. The committee, composed of experts, will prepare a factual report for publication by September 30, 2026, at the latest.
Despite the satellite records not explicitly detailing their involvement in the incident, it is widely acknowledged that satellites can monitor changes in energy usage and grid stability. Similarly, ENTSO-E plays a critical role in coordinating and managing the European power grid, ensuring a quick response to such events and future preparation to prevent similar incidents.
While the precise cause of the blackout remains under investigation, it is known that instabilities in the electrical grid, specifically inter-area oscillations, led to a disconnection from the Central European system. Moreover, reports indicate generation trips in southern Spain, significantly reducing power output and destabilizing the grid. The timeline of events includes the first set of inter-area oscillations at 12:03:15 CEST, the disconnection from the Central European system at 12:33:19 CEST, and a rapid drop in power output around the same time due to generation trips in southern Spain.
- Portugal, as one of the affected countries, could potentially benefit from investments in environmental-science research to develop more sustainable and resilient power systems, thus reducing the likelihood of future blackouts.
- The European Space Agency (ESA) and NASA, with their extensive space-and-astronomy programs, have the potential to contribute to the field of general-news reporting beyond celestial observation, as demonstrated by their role in monitoring the Iberian Peninsula blackout.
- Financial institutions might want to consider the potential risks associated with power outages, like the 2025 Iberian Peninsula blackout, when evaluating investments in infrastructural projects to ensure the long-term stability and profitability of their portfolios.
