<description>&lt;p&gt;On 28 April, the entire Iberian Peninsula plunged into darkness in under &lt;strong&gt;30 seconds&lt;/strong&gt;. How can a modern, interconnected grid fail so spectacularly—and what does it teach the rest of Europe?&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;I sat down with &lt;strong&gt;Kjetil Obstfelder Uhlen&lt;/strong&gt;—Professor at NTNU&amp;#39;s Department of Electric Energy and special adviser to Statnett—to reconstruct the split-second cascade that tripped lines from France to Morocco, sent frequency crashing below 50 Hz, and left millions without power.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Together we talk about:&lt;/p&gt;&lt;ul&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;p&gt;Why a single imbalance spiralled into a continent-wide blackout&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;p&gt;The hard limits of interconnection, inertia and protection schemes&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;p&gt;Whether renewables were really to blame—or just convenient scapegoats&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;p&gt;How Norway’s hydro-heavy grid would cope with a similar shock&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;p&gt;Concrete fixes: synthetic inertia, smarter system-protection, and cross-border coordination&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ul&gt;
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On 28 April, the entire Iberian Peninsula plunged into darkness in under 30 seconds. How can a modern, interconnected grid fail so spectacularly—and what does it teach the rest of Europe?I sat down with Kjetil Obstfelder Uhlen—Professor at NTNU&#39;s Department of Electric Energy and special adviser to Statnett—to reconstruct the split-second cascade that tripped lines from France to Morocco, sent frequency crashing below 50 Hz, and left millions without power.Together we talk about:<ul><li>Why a single imbalance spiralled into a continent-wide blackout</li><li>The hard limits of interconnection, inertia and protection schemes</li><li>Whether renewables were really to blame—or just convenient scapegoats</li><li>How Norway’s hydro-heavy grid would cope with a similar shock</li><li>Concrete fixes: synthetic inertia, smarter system-protection, and cross-border coordination</li></ul>

NTNU Energy Transition Podcast

#85 When the Lights Go Out: Lessons from the Iberian Blackout (with Kjetil Uhlen, NTNU IEL)

#85 When the Lights Go Out: Lessons from the Iberian Blackout (with Kjetil Uhlen, NTNU IEL)

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