The ensuing solar eclipse has the potential to cause rolling blackouts around Europe. The not-so-evident reason: Solar energy in Europe has risen drastically. The last eclipse that would be comparable to this occurred in 1999, where much of the power was generated using nuclear power and fossil fuels. Now, many countries in Europe have made huge efforts to switch to renewable energy sources, including solar. In 1999, the impact was not significant to the power gird. The switch, however, may have repercussions. The power supply, now including more renewables, experts say, may not be ready or strong enough to handle the eclipse.((See Andrew Griffin, http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/news/solar-eclipse-blackout-to-challenge-europes-electricity-supplies-10116234.html.))The question is, however, will the brief blockage of the sun be enough to cause blackouts?
The eclipse is set to have a duration of only two minutes and forty-seven seconds. Could that amount of time really cause rolling blackouts over most of Europe? Well, in 1999, a mere .01 percent of renewable energy came from the sun. As the years progressed, now 10.5 percent of renewable energy is solar.((Id.)) The European Network of Transmission System Operators for Electricity, which ensures that energy is distributed evenly, explained that the event could be devastating. Id. We have learned in Professor Baicker-McKee’s Energy Law class in Duquesne University School of Law that renewable energies have a problem with even distribution, especially when the demand is high. Here, even the amount of sun decreasing slightly could have repercussions all over the European power grid.((Id.))
The Wall Street Journal put it correctly when they stated: “In ancient times, an eclipse was sometimes viewed as a sign of a coming doomsday.”((See Liam Maloney, http://www.wsj.com/articles/europes-power-grid-braces-for-fridays-solar-eclipse-1426791818.)) While doomsday may not come, Europe does need to carefully plan for the worst: rolling blackouts over the entire continent. The countries collectively have made a big bet on renewable energies and this eclipse will provide a test. The European Network of Transmission System Operators for Electricity must carefully balance the supply across the entire grid when near 80% of the sun will be blocked.((Id.))
In Europe, and around the world for that matter, the sun takes about an hour for the light to fade into darkness. Effectively, this provides countries with time to substitute the power generated from the sun to power generated by fossil fuel energy sources.((Id.)) Sources expect that over 35,000 megawatts of generation capacity will be lost in the few minutes that the sun is blocked. Id. Some people, however, see a silver lining to the “doomsday” scenarios. Professor Alessandro Abate of Oxford University’s Department of Computer Science sees this as a great opportunity to challenge and test a worst-case scenario and see how the large populations of solar panels across Europe respond.((See Jonathan O’Callaghan, http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2998674/Will-solar-eclipse-cause-electricity-blackouts-Europe-Operators-prepare-power-grids-unprecedented-event.html.)) We shall see how successful they are.