1 00:00:00,320 --> 00:00:04,120 Speaker 1: Welcome to zero. I am Akshatrati this week? How to 2 00:00:04,200 --> 00:00:24,120 Speaker 1: avoid blackouts? We take electricity for granted, and when it disappears, 3 00:00:24,480 --> 00:00:27,600 Speaker 1: even briefly, we struggle to do simple things in life, 4 00:00:27,800 --> 00:00:31,000 Speaker 1: like taking an elevator or crossing the road without a 5 00:00:31,040 --> 00:00:35,880 Speaker 1: red light. Now imagine a country wide blackout, not for minutes, 6 00:00:36,240 --> 00:00:39,159 Speaker 1: but for nearly a full day. That's what happened in 7 00:00:39,200 --> 00:00:40,360 Speaker 1: Spain earlier this year. 8 00:00:40,760 --> 00:00:44,320 Speaker 2: There was no music, there wasn't no TVs were on, 9 00:00:44,600 --> 00:00:48,280 Speaker 2: and people were just on their balconies or outside talking 10 00:00:48,800 --> 00:00:52,519 Speaker 2: and just spending a spring night under the lights of 11 00:00:52,520 --> 00:00:53,159 Speaker 2: the candles. 12 00:00:54,280 --> 00:00:57,080 Speaker 1: That's my colleague Laura Milan. And while her experience on 13 00:00:57,120 --> 00:01:00,000 Speaker 1: the blackout sounds like something straight out of her rom com, 14 00:01:00,280 --> 00:01:04,160 Speaker 1: that moment was an exception because for almost a full day, 15 00:01:04,640 --> 00:01:08,760 Speaker 1: Spain was in chaos and it sparked a huge conversation. 16 00:01:10,080 --> 00:01:12,720 Speaker 1: In the last five years, Spain has tripled the amount 17 00:01:12,760 --> 00:01:15,760 Speaker 1: of solar it has deployed on the grid, because, of course, 18 00:01:16,040 --> 00:01:19,560 Speaker 1: it is now the cheapest source of electricity, and spain 19 00:01:19,640 --> 00:01:23,120 Speaker 1: story is not unique. Solar is being deployed in huge 20 00:01:23,120 --> 00:01:27,080 Speaker 1: amounts nearly everywhere. That's also why people wanted to know 21 00:01:27,640 --> 00:01:30,640 Speaker 1: was solar to blame for this blackout, and if it was, 22 00:01:31,040 --> 00:01:33,759 Speaker 1: what needs to be done to make modern grids stable 23 00:01:34,080 --> 00:01:37,520 Speaker 1: when intermittent renewables are taking up a growing share of 24 00:01:37,520 --> 00:01:40,360 Speaker 1: the energy mix today. We are going to look at 25 00:01:40,400 --> 00:01:43,760 Speaker 1: that question and our reporting trying to answer it. To 26 00:01:43,800 --> 00:01:46,280 Speaker 1: tell that story, I'm joined by my Bloomberg Green colleague 27 00:01:46,319 --> 00:01:49,040 Speaker 1: Lura Milan, who is based in Madrid. We'll look at 28 00:01:49,080 --> 00:01:51,920 Speaker 1: the lessons from the Spanish blackout, get nerdy about the 29 00:01:51,920 --> 00:01:55,320 Speaker 1: solutions that are already available, and hear what places like 30 00:01:55,360 --> 00:01:58,400 Speaker 1: the UK and Australia that have huge amounts of renewables 31 00:01:58,400 --> 00:02:01,760 Speaker 1: already are doing to stabilize the grid. This is the 32 00:02:01,760 --> 00:02:04,680 Speaker 1: fourth episode in the Bottleneck series in which we look 33 00:02:04,760 --> 00:02:08,560 Speaker 1: at the little known things holding back electrification and clean energy. 34 00:02:09,080 --> 00:02:14,480 Speaker 1: Check out the previous episodes in the show notes. Laura, 35 00:02:14,600 --> 00:02:15,480 Speaker 1: welcome back to Zero. 36 00:02:15,600 --> 00:02:16,960 Speaker 3: Hello, thanks for having me. 37 00:02:17,360 --> 00:02:19,600 Speaker 1: So I want to start a few months ago in 38 00:02:19,680 --> 00:02:23,560 Speaker 1: April with what happened in Spain. There was a nationwide blackout. 39 00:02:24,080 --> 00:02:26,800 Speaker 1: It affected not just Spain but also Portugal, some parts 40 00:02:26,840 --> 00:02:30,400 Speaker 1: of France, and it kicked off this huge conversation about 41 00:02:30,400 --> 00:02:33,359 Speaker 1: whether renewables are to blame. But before we get into 42 00:02:33,400 --> 00:02:36,880 Speaker 1: the details. Tell us about your experience, because you were 43 00:02:37,040 --> 00:02:39,800 Speaker 1: in Madrid and you saw how it played out and 44 00:02:39,840 --> 00:02:41,240 Speaker 1: you yourself were affected. 45 00:02:41,639 --> 00:02:44,520 Speaker 2: Yes, of course, this was everyone in the country and 46 00:02:44,560 --> 00:02:47,320 Speaker 2: like you said, in the region. Actually, so I was 47 00:02:47,639 --> 00:02:50,680 Speaker 2: at the office, I was working and suddenly the lights 48 00:02:50,720 --> 00:02:54,240 Speaker 2: went off. But because we have a backup generator in 49 00:02:54,280 --> 00:02:57,400 Speaker 2: the office, the computer season and we thought it was, 50 00:02:57,919 --> 00:03:00,639 Speaker 2: you know, some sort of issue with electricity in the building, 51 00:03:00,840 --> 00:03:03,000 Speaker 2: so we just waited for a bit. But then we 52 00:03:03,040 --> 00:03:07,760 Speaker 2: started hearing sirens outside and when we looked out the window, 53 00:03:07,840 --> 00:03:10,480 Speaker 2: we realized the street lights were off, and that's when 54 00:03:10,480 --> 00:03:13,320 Speaker 2: we started thinking that something more serious was going on. 55 00:03:13,919 --> 00:03:17,640 Speaker 2: So I started texting and so did others in the office, 56 00:03:17,680 --> 00:03:21,160 Speaker 2: family members and friends outside of Madrid to figure out 57 00:03:21,320 --> 00:03:25,040 Speaker 2: how widespread that was. And we started getting messages back 58 00:03:25,080 --> 00:03:28,760 Speaker 2: from people all over Spain saying they didn't have electricity, 59 00:03:29,040 --> 00:03:31,480 Speaker 2: and you know, within the first few minutes we worked 60 00:03:31,480 --> 00:03:34,240 Speaker 2: out that the lights were off across the country. 61 00:03:34,520 --> 00:03:36,320 Speaker 1: And how did the rest of the day play out. 62 00:03:36,480 --> 00:03:39,800 Speaker 2: The rest of the day was quite intense for us 63 00:03:39,880 --> 00:03:42,720 Speaker 2: as journalists because obviously it was all about trying to 64 00:03:42,720 --> 00:03:45,720 Speaker 2: figure out what had happened and why and what the 65 00:03:45,840 --> 00:03:50,200 Speaker 2: impacts were. Without knowing how long the generator in. 66 00:03:50,160 --> 00:03:51,320 Speaker 3: The office would last. 67 00:03:51,400 --> 00:03:53,800 Speaker 2: It actually ended up lasting the whole night, which was 68 00:03:53,880 --> 00:03:56,880 Speaker 2: very useful for us, but it wasn't the case for 69 00:03:57,120 --> 00:03:59,880 Speaker 2: you know, many people across the country, so people were 70 00:04:00,040 --> 00:04:05,560 Speaker 2: trapped in trains and metro for hours. The electricity lights 71 00:04:05,560 --> 00:04:09,800 Speaker 2: and cities weren't working, so there were huge, huge queues 72 00:04:09,840 --> 00:04:14,280 Speaker 2: of cars people trying to get back home. Shops didn't 73 00:04:14,320 --> 00:04:19,040 Speaker 2: have power and had to close or remain open without electricity, 74 00:04:19,520 --> 00:04:24,520 Speaker 2: so it was a tricky day. Unfortunately, emergency services, hospitals, 75 00:04:24,760 --> 00:04:28,440 Speaker 2: airports all had backup systems that worked, and we actually 76 00:04:28,520 --> 00:04:33,920 Speaker 2: found out these sort of strategic places have backup systems 77 00:04:34,000 --> 00:04:37,400 Speaker 2: that can last four days at a time. So thankfully 78 00:04:37,880 --> 00:04:41,800 Speaker 2: the blackout didn't last for that long, and except for 79 00:04:41,839 --> 00:04:45,599 Speaker 2: some events and some people that obviously had to spend 80 00:04:45,600 --> 00:04:49,800 Speaker 2: a lot of time stuck inside trains and metro wagons, 81 00:04:49,920 --> 00:04:53,640 Speaker 2: essentially the rest of the country was okay. So obviously 82 00:04:53,680 --> 00:04:56,920 Speaker 2: my main concern when the first few moments of stress 83 00:04:56,960 --> 00:04:59,000 Speaker 2: and trying to figure out what was going on, was 84 00:04:59,040 --> 00:05:00,960 Speaker 2: trying to find out where my family were. 85 00:05:01,440 --> 00:05:03,240 Speaker 3: In the end, I walked back home. 86 00:05:03,279 --> 00:05:05,200 Speaker 2: It took me a bit, a bit longer than it 87 00:05:05,240 --> 00:05:08,359 Speaker 2: should have, and I found that they were okay. Thankfully, 88 00:05:08,400 --> 00:05:12,240 Speaker 2: we've got a small gas powered barbecue, so we were 89 00:05:12,279 --> 00:05:16,880 Speaker 2: able to eat dinner. And as the hours passed and 90 00:05:17,200 --> 00:05:21,039 Speaker 2: it became dark, it was actually a pretty beautiful scene 91 00:05:21,480 --> 00:05:25,720 Speaker 2: to watch from our home the windows of our neighbors 92 00:05:26,080 --> 00:05:28,680 Speaker 2: that were lead on candles, because that's what everyone was 93 00:05:28,800 --> 00:05:33,200 Speaker 2: using candles and flashlights. And then when the lights started 94 00:05:33,240 --> 00:05:35,960 Speaker 2: to come back, they came back district by districts, and 95 00:05:36,000 --> 00:05:39,080 Speaker 2: from our window we were able to see other buildings 96 00:05:39,480 --> 00:05:42,000 Speaker 2: that started to be lead and then light came two 97 00:05:42,040 --> 00:05:43,719 Speaker 2: hours that just before midnight. 98 00:05:43,920 --> 00:05:46,160 Speaker 3: So that was our little blackout adventure. 99 00:05:46,600 --> 00:05:49,040 Speaker 1: I'm glad you got a little moment of peace talk 100 00:05:49,120 --> 00:05:53,200 Speaker 1: us through what we know happened and what we understand 101 00:05:53,360 --> 00:05:54,240 Speaker 1: caused the blackout. 102 00:05:54,640 --> 00:05:58,800 Speaker 2: So what caused the blackout is still under investigation. There 103 00:05:58,800 --> 00:06:02,960 Speaker 2: are four different investigation ongoing at the moment. One by 104 00:06:03,040 --> 00:06:06,120 Speaker 2: the Spanish grid operator has already finished and they filed 105 00:06:06,120 --> 00:06:10,960 Speaker 2: the report waiting for the definitive reports of the other investigations. 106 00:06:11,240 --> 00:06:15,279 Speaker 2: We know some things filled. We know there were some 107 00:06:15,960 --> 00:06:20,599 Speaker 2: outages in some solar farms in Spain South and that 108 00:06:20,680 --> 00:06:25,799 Speaker 2: destabilized the greed, but that had happened before and didn't 109 00:06:25,880 --> 00:06:29,360 Speaker 2: lead to a nation wide blackout, so likely what happened 110 00:06:29,480 --> 00:06:32,120 Speaker 2: is a chain of events that happened one after another, 111 00:06:32,320 --> 00:06:33,360 Speaker 2: and the combination of. 112 00:06:33,360 --> 00:06:35,520 Speaker 3: All of these led to the blackout. 113 00:06:35,600 --> 00:06:39,239 Speaker 2: But again, what we know happened is these solar firms 114 00:06:39,680 --> 00:06:44,200 Speaker 2: disconnected themselves from the greed. They stopped providing power, and 115 00:06:44,279 --> 00:06:49,560 Speaker 2: then the grid operator, which is in charge of maintaining 116 00:06:49,600 --> 00:06:52,919 Speaker 2: greed stability and making sure the lights are on, requested 117 00:06:53,000 --> 00:06:57,640 Speaker 2: backup stability services from the gas plants in Spain, and 118 00:06:57,760 --> 00:07:01,279 Speaker 2: the gas plans weren't quick enough to get started, so 119 00:07:01,400 --> 00:07:03,600 Speaker 2: because it took them about an hour and a half 120 00:07:03,720 --> 00:07:07,120 Speaker 2: to go online. Within that period of time between the 121 00:07:07,160 --> 00:07:10,320 Speaker 2: moment that the greed operator requested their services and the 122 00:07:10,360 --> 00:07:12,880 Speaker 2: moment when they actually could start running, that's when the 123 00:07:12,920 --> 00:07:13,880 Speaker 2: blackout happened. 124 00:07:14,440 --> 00:07:15,440 Speaker 3: What happened then. 125 00:07:15,440 --> 00:07:19,080 Speaker 2: Was because of this lack of stability, of this instability 126 00:07:19,160 --> 00:07:23,720 Speaker 2: in the greed, other generation plans across the country detected that, 127 00:07:23,920 --> 00:07:29,160 Speaker 2: and to avoid this instability filtering into their own networks, 128 00:07:29,160 --> 00:07:32,600 Speaker 2: into their own systems, they disconnected themselves and so within 129 00:07:32,720 --> 00:07:35,720 Speaker 2: a matter of a second or less, than that, the 130 00:07:35,760 --> 00:07:39,120 Speaker 2: whole country went into the dark, as we know, and 131 00:07:39,440 --> 00:07:43,240 Speaker 2: that's what the investigations have found so far. And then 132 00:07:43,280 --> 00:07:47,000 Speaker 2: what they recommended as well, Spain's greed Operator and then 133 00:07:47,040 --> 00:07:50,320 Speaker 2: the European Greed Operator, which is also investigating and has 134 00:07:50,360 --> 00:07:56,600 Speaker 2: released some initial conclusions, is that Spain needs more synchronous 135 00:07:56,600 --> 00:08:01,560 Speaker 2: compensators and greed forming inverters. So this are devices that 136 00:08:01,680 --> 00:08:06,320 Speaker 2: can manage that can help the grid operator handle voltage 137 00:08:06,360 --> 00:08:09,560 Speaker 2: instability like the one we had on April twenty eight. 138 00:08:09,840 --> 00:08:13,840 Speaker 3: With more of these devices, the blackout wouldn't have happened. 139 00:08:14,360 --> 00:08:18,520 Speaker 2: And so the next step for the Spanish greed is 140 00:08:18,840 --> 00:08:23,040 Speaker 2: installing more of these devices. And this is where we 141 00:08:23,160 --> 00:08:26,920 Speaker 2: teamed up you and I actually, because the solutions needed 142 00:08:26,960 --> 00:08:30,120 Speaker 2: to deal with these blackouts are not new. That's when 143 00:08:30,120 --> 00:08:33,160 Speaker 2: we started you and I having this conversation of not 144 00:08:33,280 --> 00:08:35,800 Speaker 2: just what went wrong in Spain, but what can countries 145 00:08:35,840 --> 00:08:38,960 Speaker 2: do to make sure that doesn't happen again. Actually during 146 00:08:39,000 --> 00:08:42,040 Speaker 2: the UK, which had its own blackout in twenty nineteen, 147 00:08:42,240 --> 00:08:43,400 Speaker 2: what happened after that? 148 00:08:44,120 --> 00:08:48,119 Speaker 1: Yeah, it's clearly not the first blackout of the renewables 149 00:08:48,200 --> 00:08:52,040 Speaker 1: era so to speak. The UK had one on August ninth, 150 00:08:52,200 --> 00:08:56,120 Speaker 1: twenty nineteen. It was relatively small compared to what happened 151 00:08:56,160 --> 00:09:00,360 Speaker 1: in Spain about one million people are affected. Lights back 152 00:09:00,400 --> 00:09:04,560 Speaker 1: on in forty five minutes. But the event was big 153 00:09:04,679 --> 00:09:09,920 Speaker 1: enough and worrying enough that the grid operator was forced 154 00:09:09,920 --> 00:09:12,480 Speaker 1: to take immediate action. And one of the things that 155 00:09:12,520 --> 00:09:16,800 Speaker 1: it did was create this program within months to provide 156 00:09:16,960 --> 00:09:22,200 Speaker 1: grid stabilizing services, and synchronous compensators were among the first 157 00:09:22,480 --> 00:09:25,600 Speaker 1: to try and provide these services so that they could 158 00:09:25,720 --> 00:09:27,319 Speaker 1: help avoid these blackouts. 159 00:09:27,440 --> 00:09:30,199 Speaker 2: And can we step back just for one second, and 160 00:09:30,240 --> 00:09:34,640 Speaker 2: can you explain to us what synchronous compensator is and 161 00:09:35,200 --> 00:09:37,920 Speaker 2: why does the greed need it and how it works? 162 00:09:38,040 --> 00:09:41,160 Speaker 1: Essentially, Yeah, it is a really complicated thing, so let's 163 00:09:41,200 --> 00:09:43,800 Speaker 1: take it step by step. The grid as it has 164 00:09:43,880 --> 00:09:48,080 Speaker 1: existed over the past one hundred years has run on 165 00:09:48,559 --> 00:09:52,400 Speaker 1: spinning things, and that might not seem like something people 166 00:09:52,880 --> 00:09:56,559 Speaker 1: realize because we never see those spinning things. Those are 167 00:09:56,640 --> 00:10:00,000 Speaker 1: turbines that are powered by either coal that hits up 168 00:10:00,080 --> 00:10:03,559 Speaker 1: water produce the steam and then the steam turns the turbine, 169 00:10:03,920 --> 00:10:06,600 Speaker 1: or it's a gas powered turbine where the gas itself 170 00:10:06,679 --> 00:10:10,679 Speaker 1: is being burnt inside the turbine and the spinning action 171 00:10:10,800 --> 00:10:14,800 Speaker 1: is happening surrounded by magnets, and because of the interaction 172 00:10:14,960 --> 00:10:17,720 Speaker 1: between the shaft that is spinning and the magnets, you 173 00:10:17,760 --> 00:10:21,240 Speaker 1: get a production of electricity. Electricity that we get on 174 00:10:21,280 --> 00:10:24,720 Speaker 1: the grid is alternating current. It sort of swings between 175 00:10:24,800 --> 00:10:28,640 Speaker 1: plus and minus and it does so at a very 176 00:10:29,400 --> 00:10:33,360 Speaker 1: constant frequency, which is to say, it swings between plus 177 00:10:33,360 --> 00:10:37,120 Speaker 1: and minus about fifty times per second, or what grid 178 00:10:37,160 --> 00:10:40,960 Speaker 1: people will call fifty hertz. Four one hundred years, grid 179 00:10:41,000 --> 00:10:44,520 Speaker 1: operators have known how to manage electricity when there are 180 00:10:44,640 --> 00:10:49,520 Speaker 1: these spinning devices on the grid. But now comes solar, 181 00:10:49,600 --> 00:10:53,400 Speaker 1: which is the first form of electricity generation that has 182 00:10:53,640 --> 00:10:58,000 Speaker 1: nothing that is moving. It's really just light from the 183 00:10:58,000 --> 00:11:02,080 Speaker 1: sun falling on some silicon chips that releases a bunch 184 00:11:02,120 --> 00:11:05,000 Speaker 1: of electrons and you get electricity. And it is a 185 00:11:05,000 --> 00:11:08,440 Speaker 1: form of electricity that the grid hasn't quite understood how 186 00:11:08,480 --> 00:11:12,160 Speaker 1: to handle yet. And so in the short term, what 187 00:11:12,240 --> 00:11:15,880 Speaker 1: the grid operators have thought they could do is, if 188 00:11:15,920 --> 00:11:19,400 Speaker 1: you're not going to have coal or gas power turbines, 189 00:11:19,960 --> 00:11:23,680 Speaker 1: you add something that is spinning but is not burning 190 00:11:23,679 --> 00:11:26,800 Speaker 1: any fossil fuels, and that's what a synchronous compensator is 191 00:11:27,360 --> 00:11:31,079 Speaker 1: it really just is a device that consumes electricity small 192 00:11:31,120 --> 00:11:35,360 Speaker 1: amount all the time and keeps this one hundred ton 193 00:11:35,480 --> 00:11:41,040 Speaker 1: object spinning all the time and providing these grid stability services. 194 00:11:41,280 --> 00:11:44,280 Speaker 2: And you actually want to see one of them in action, right, 195 00:11:44,400 --> 00:11:47,800 Speaker 2: Can you tell us what did it look like, this big, 196 00:11:48,000 --> 00:11:51,000 Speaker 2: heavy machine and what was it doing for the grid 197 00:11:51,080 --> 00:11:53,560 Speaker 2: specifically in the place where you want to see it? 198 00:11:54,000 --> 00:11:55,920 Speaker 1: So I got to see the very first one that 199 00:11:56,000 --> 00:11:58,600 Speaker 1: was built in the UK following this blackout. It was 200 00:11:58,640 --> 00:12:02,000 Speaker 1: built in Liverpool in the north of England and it's 201 00:12:02,000 --> 00:12:08,080 Speaker 1: situated between an abandoned market and this rusty old substation. 202 00:12:09,040 --> 00:12:10,920 Speaker 1: But when I went to the site, it had this 203 00:12:11,080 --> 00:12:14,960 Speaker 1: high fence that was electrically charged because it's a critical 204 00:12:15,040 --> 00:12:18,320 Speaker 1: national infrastructure so it needs to be protected. Before we 205 00:12:18,400 --> 00:12:21,240 Speaker 1: got in, we had to put on ear protection because 206 00:12:21,280 --> 00:12:24,320 Speaker 1: I was told they are very loud and that we 207 00:12:24,480 --> 00:12:27,320 Speaker 1: won't be able to have a conversation inside. So the 208 00:12:27,360 --> 00:12:30,640 Speaker 1: first thing that you see when you go inside is 209 00:12:30,679 --> 00:12:35,160 Speaker 1: this big object that's behind a metal shield and it's 210 00:12:35,280 --> 00:12:38,520 Speaker 1: very loud. And the second thing that happens is you 211 00:12:38,559 --> 00:12:42,800 Speaker 1: smell oil. That oil is necessary to help this ninety 212 00:12:42,960 --> 00:12:46,480 Speaker 1: eight ton object to spin at fifteen hundred rotations per 213 00:12:46,559 --> 00:12:48,040 Speaker 1: minute constantly. 214 00:12:48,280 --> 00:12:50,360 Speaker 2: So that's so interesting that the object that you were 215 00:12:50,360 --> 00:12:53,760 Speaker 2: talking about, that that performs this very important function for 216 00:12:53,920 --> 00:12:55,720 Speaker 2: the greed and to keep the lights of a country 217 00:12:55,760 --> 00:12:57,800 Speaker 2: on is somewhere that. 218 00:12:57,920 --> 00:12:59,520 Speaker 3: You know, probably you could walk. 219 00:12:59,400 --> 00:13:02,280 Speaker 2: Through there or next to there and not even notice. 220 00:13:02,480 --> 00:13:05,880 Speaker 2: Did they tell you how often? Because obviously the synchronous 221 00:13:05,880 --> 00:13:09,400 Speaker 2: compensator is turning all the time, but how often does 222 00:13:09,440 --> 00:13:13,920 Speaker 2: it really kick into action and provide this much needed 223 00:13:14,040 --> 00:13:15,840 Speaker 2: stability service to the grid, do you know? 224 00:13:16,600 --> 00:13:20,160 Speaker 1: So it actually kicks in every few days, and that 225 00:13:20,280 --> 00:13:23,480 Speaker 1: is to say every few days the grid in Liverpool 226 00:13:23,600 --> 00:13:29,560 Speaker 1: is experiencing something like what Spain experienced, which is either 227 00:13:29,559 --> 00:13:33,560 Speaker 1: a solar farm going down or an interconnector say from Norway, 228 00:13:33,600 --> 00:13:37,280 Speaker 1: which is bringing in one gigab of power just suddenly stopping. 229 00:13:38,040 --> 00:13:43,920 Speaker 1: And this device, the synchronous compensator, basically pumps in extra 230 00:13:44,000 --> 00:13:48,600 Speaker 1: power when needed and it reacts within one millisecond of 231 00:13:48,679 --> 00:13:52,439 Speaker 1: such a fault happening, or if there is an extra 232 00:13:52,760 --> 00:13:56,760 Speaker 1: injection of power because a power plant is malfunctioning, then 233 00:13:56,800 --> 00:14:01,600 Speaker 1: it absorbs that power and it does that automatically. It's 234 00:14:01,600 --> 00:14:04,720 Speaker 1: not like some person has to decide it is reacting 235 00:14:04,760 --> 00:14:08,520 Speaker 1: to the variations in the grid and making sure that 236 00:14:08,600 --> 00:14:12,520 Speaker 1: the grid's frequency, which is fifty hertz, stays constant by 237 00:14:12,559 --> 00:14:17,160 Speaker 1: either injecting power when needed or absorbing power when needed. 238 00:14:18,280 --> 00:14:22,920 Speaker 1: And you can actually measure that change because the rotational speed, 239 00:14:23,200 --> 00:14:26,240 Speaker 1: so if it's removing at fifteen hundred rpm, it might 240 00:14:26,320 --> 00:14:29,160 Speaker 1: either move a little too fast or little too slow 241 00:14:29,440 --> 00:14:32,440 Speaker 1: when it is in action doing this work for the grid. 242 00:14:37,520 --> 00:14:40,000 Speaker 1: More from my conversation with Laura Milan on the Spanish 243 00:14:40,080 --> 00:14:43,800 Speaker 1: blackout and the technologies needed to solve it after the shortbreak. 244 00:14:44,160 --> 00:14:46,880 Speaker 1: If you're finding this episode insightful, please take a moment 245 00:14:46,920 --> 00:14:50,560 Speaker 1: to rate and review the show on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Recently, 246 00:14:50,560 --> 00:14:54,280 Speaker 1: a listener who goes by them Changes First said, listen 247 00:14:54,320 --> 00:14:56,520 Speaker 1: to several episodes of Zero, and you will get a 248 00:14:56,600 --> 00:14:58,600 Speaker 1: sense of both how much there is to do on 249 00:14:58,680 --> 00:15:02,880 Speaker 1: climate and how much we've made. Thank you them Changes First. 250 00:15:15,400 --> 00:15:18,280 Speaker 2: Actually you've just told us how the grid has run 251 00:15:18,360 --> 00:15:21,760 Speaker 2: on spinning things for more than a century. But actually 252 00:15:21,800 --> 00:15:25,280 Speaker 2: now we are seeing coal plants being decommissioned and even 253 00:15:25,320 --> 00:15:27,880 Speaker 2: gas plants, and in the Spanish case, we saw how 254 00:15:27,960 --> 00:15:31,400 Speaker 2: gas plants weren't fast enough to come online to prevent 255 00:15:31,880 --> 00:15:32,920 Speaker 2: the blackout. 256 00:15:33,040 --> 00:15:34,440 Speaker 3: So these are. 257 00:15:34,320 --> 00:15:38,920 Speaker 2: Being replaced with synchronous compensators in some places. But my 258 00:15:39,040 --> 00:15:41,880 Speaker 2: question is will we remain stuck with the spinning things 259 00:15:41,880 --> 00:15:44,600 Speaker 2: to make the grid work or is there something else? 260 00:15:45,200 --> 00:15:49,160 Speaker 1: Yeah, in our reporting we found that grid operators are 261 00:15:49,400 --> 00:15:53,280 Speaker 1: comfortable with spinning things. That's why if a gaster wine 262 00:15:53,360 --> 00:15:56,240 Speaker 1: article poplant is being shut down, or even a nuclear 263 00:15:56,280 --> 00:15:59,800 Speaker 1: power plant as we know happened in Germany, they are 264 00:16:00,120 --> 00:16:03,440 Speaker 1: first being replaced by these synchronous compensators because it's sort 265 00:16:03,440 --> 00:16:06,880 Speaker 1: of a like to like replacement for the grid operator. 266 00:16:07,640 --> 00:16:11,560 Speaker 1: But we also know that the future doesn't have to 267 00:16:11,720 --> 00:16:16,480 Speaker 1: involve spinning things. There are these grid forming inverters that 268 00:16:16,640 --> 00:16:21,000 Speaker 1: are available right now and deployed in some places that 269 00:16:21,040 --> 00:16:22,200 Speaker 1: could do that job too. 270 00:16:22,600 --> 00:16:25,160 Speaker 2: So can you tell us what a greed forming invertery 271 00:16:25,280 --> 00:16:26,280 Speaker 2: is and how it works. 272 00:16:27,040 --> 00:16:30,160 Speaker 1: So inverters are something that have existed in the renewable 273 00:16:30,160 --> 00:16:34,560 Speaker 1: era from the very beginning, because solar plants and batteries 274 00:16:34,600 --> 00:16:38,040 Speaker 1: produce electricity as direct current, and before they can be 275 00:16:38,080 --> 00:16:40,520 Speaker 1: put on the grid, they need to be turned into 276 00:16:40,600 --> 00:16:44,960 Speaker 1: alternating current. But the inverters that exist on most of 277 00:16:45,000 --> 00:16:48,760 Speaker 1: these plants today are passive inverters. They basically copy the 278 00:16:48,800 --> 00:16:51,000 Speaker 1: signal that is already on the grid. So if the 279 00:16:51,000 --> 00:16:53,680 Speaker 1: grid is running at forty nine point five herds, the 280 00:16:53,760 --> 00:16:57,480 Speaker 1: inverter will produce alternating current at forty nine point five herds. 281 00:16:57,840 --> 00:17:01,320 Speaker 1: That can be a problem sometimes because if there is 282 00:17:01,320 --> 00:17:04,280 Speaker 1: a fault on the grid, these inverters might amplify that 283 00:17:04,359 --> 00:17:07,080 Speaker 1: fault and make things worse. And so there is a 284 00:17:07,080 --> 00:17:09,640 Speaker 1: move to make these inverters smart by putting a computer 285 00:17:09,720 --> 00:17:13,800 Speaker 1: processing chip in there and making them actually help the 286 00:17:13,840 --> 00:17:16,760 Speaker 1: grid form the right frequency. So that's why they're called 287 00:17:16,800 --> 00:17:21,320 Speaker 1: grid forming inverters. And what's being done these days is 288 00:17:21,400 --> 00:17:24,359 Speaker 1: batteries are being linked up with these grid forming inverters 289 00:17:24,680 --> 00:17:28,919 Speaker 1: and they can do what these spinning devices are doing, 290 00:17:29,400 --> 00:17:33,040 Speaker 1: just in a digital manner. So the spinning devices produce 291 00:17:33,160 --> 00:17:36,720 Speaker 1: something called inertia, which is when a thing is spinning, 292 00:17:36,960 --> 00:17:41,600 Speaker 1: it keeps spinning because of Newton's laws of motion. That 293 00:17:41,640 --> 00:17:45,600 Speaker 1: is what is helping grid operators manage stabilizing the grid. 294 00:17:45,880 --> 00:17:48,919 Speaker 1: What grid forming inverters are doing are essentially creating that 295 00:17:49,080 --> 00:17:53,480 Speaker 1: signal with digital processing and making it be as good 296 00:17:53,840 --> 00:17:55,680 Speaker 1: as what spinning devices could do. 297 00:17:55,960 --> 00:17:58,320 Speaker 2: I love that we are learning so many new and 298 00:17:58,400 --> 00:18:02,320 Speaker 2: technical concepts in this US today. Actually, how widespread is 299 00:18:02,320 --> 00:18:06,280 Speaker 2: the use of these batteries is greed forming batteries right now. 300 00:18:06,320 --> 00:18:10,040 Speaker 1: Synchronous compensators are cheaper to build and so a lot 301 00:18:10,119 --> 00:18:14,240 Speaker 1: of them are being deployed initially, but they are expensive 302 00:18:14,240 --> 00:18:18,080 Speaker 1: to run because they're constantly consuming power. Batteries, on the 303 00:18:18,119 --> 00:18:21,320 Speaker 1: other hand, are much more expensive upfront to build because 304 00:18:21,400 --> 00:18:24,520 Speaker 1: batteries still are not that cheap, but they don't consume 305 00:18:24,600 --> 00:18:27,720 Speaker 1: power all the time. The second problem with batteries is 306 00:18:27,760 --> 00:18:31,680 Speaker 1: that because grid operators aren't yet comfortable with using batteries 307 00:18:31,680 --> 00:18:34,320 Speaker 1: in this manner, they're only starting to be deployed in 308 00:18:34,400 --> 00:18:38,680 Speaker 1: small ways in some places. So Australia has a few examples. 309 00:18:38,720 --> 00:18:42,359 Speaker 1: The UK is building a grid forming battery right now. 310 00:18:42,720 --> 00:18:45,560 Speaker 1: There are few in the US, but it's not as 311 00:18:45,680 --> 00:18:50,080 Speaker 1: widespread as we would like. We spoke to Felicia Amanoff 312 00:18:50,280 --> 00:18:54,360 Speaker 1: of Bloomberg and EF and she said that grid operators 313 00:18:54,400 --> 00:18:57,159 Speaker 1: are not yet fully trusting of how they work on 314 00:18:57,200 --> 00:19:00,880 Speaker 1: the grid, but once they do, we'll start to see more 315 00:19:00,920 --> 00:19:04,400 Speaker 1: of them. Now, we talked about sort of the lessons 316 00:19:04,400 --> 00:19:08,879 Speaker 1: from the UK's blackout, why these technical solutions like synchronous 317 00:19:08,920 --> 00:19:14,480 Speaker 1: compensators and gride forming inverters could help. What is Spain 318 00:19:14,560 --> 00:19:17,120 Speaker 1: planning to do as a result of its own blackout? 319 00:19:17,280 --> 00:19:21,119 Speaker 2: So Spain started working on first of all, obviously finding 320 00:19:21,119 --> 00:19:23,800 Speaker 2: out what had happened, but also how to make sure 321 00:19:23,840 --> 00:19:27,239 Speaker 2: it never happens again, because obviously it was even if 322 00:19:27,280 --> 00:19:30,240 Speaker 2: it just lasted a few hours, it was quite an 323 00:19:30,280 --> 00:19:35,560 Speaker 2: impressive and traumatic experience for the country to have zero 324 00:19:35,640 --> 00:19:38,240 Speaker 2: electricity for several hours. 325 00:19:37,800 --> 00:19:38,320 Speaker 3: On a day. 326 00:19:38,880 --> 00:19:43,560 Speaker 2: So what we saw on the aftermath of the blackout, 327 00:19:43,640 --> 00:19:46,720 Speaker 2: on the immediate hours and days after was the Spanish 328 00:19:46,720 --> 00:19:50,840 Speaker 2: grid operator going back to what it now it works, 329 00:19:50,920 --> 00:19:54,840 Speaker 2: and so we actually saw less renewable power on the 330 00:19:54,880 --> 00:19:57,720 Speaker 2: grid and more gas on the first few days, and 331 00:19:57,760 --> 00:20:03,240 Speaker 2: then that gradually recovered, so renewable power going up, gas 332 00:20:03,280 --> 00:20:07,360 Speaker 2: going down on the weeks after. And then on June nineteen, 333 00:20:07,880 --> 00:20:12,320 Speaker 2: the Spanish regulator CNMC approved a revision of the rules 334 00:20:13,160 --> 00:20:16,879 Speaker 2: aimed at keeping the voltage on the greed stable. Those 335 00:20:16,960 --> 00:20:19,679 Speaker 2: rules had been stalled for months and even years, it 336 00:20:19,800 --> 00:20:22,960 Speaker 2: just took so long for the regulator to approve them, 337 00:20:22,960 --> 00:20:25,199 Speaker 2: but as soon as the blackout happened. It looks like 338 00:20:25,280 --> 00:20:27,399 Speaker 2: for some reason, the regulator thought that that was a 339 00:20:27,400 --> 00:20:30,400 Speaker 2: good moment to approve them and make them kick in. 340 00:20:30,840 --> 00:20:34,760 Speaker 2: So the new rules open what's called a stability market 341 00:20:34,800 --> 00:20:39,560 Speaker 2: that was previously accessible only to gas and nuclear power operators. 342 00:20:39,600 --> 00:20:43,639 Speaker 2: That the market mechanism that encourages those in it to 343 00:20:43,760 --> 00:20:47,879 Speaker 2: set up mechanisms install devices to provide stability to the market. 344 00:20:47,920 --> 00:20:51,040 Speaker 2: So again, before only gas and nuclear power plants were 345 00:20:51,520 --> 00:20:54,399 Speaker 2: able to access that, and now wind and solar power 346 00:20:54,400 --> 00:20:58,320 Speaker 2: plants will also be allowed into these stability markets. So 347 00:20:58,880 --> 00:21:02,800 Speaker 2: that step will encour it's renewable operators to install devices 348 00:21:03,080 --> 00:21:07,440 Speaker 2: like grid forming inverters, like synchronous compensators that will provide 349 00:21:07,520 --> 00:21:10,480 Speaker 2: stability to the greed because they will get paid for it. Worse, 350 00:21:10,760 --> 00:21:13,879 Speaker 2: before they weren't, so they didn't have any motivation to 351 00:21:13,920 --> 00:21:14,240 Speaker 2: do it. 352 00:21:14,840 --> 00:21:20,120 Speaker 1: We are seeing now renewable deployment just grow rapidly. There 353 00:21:20,280 --> 00:21:23,720 Speaker 1: is an IA report that came out recently that looked 354 00:21:23,760 --> 00:21:27,720 Speaker 1: at the share of wind and solar in the global 355 00:21:27,840 --> 00:21:33,439 Speaker 1: grid mix, and between twenty sixteen and now, in a 356 00:21:33,480 --> 00:21:36,600 Speaker 1: period of ten years, it has gone up from four 357 00:21:36,720 --> 00:21:41,760 Speaker 1: percent to twenty percent and it's showing no signs of stopping. 358 00:21:42,200 --> 00:21:46,080 Speaker 1: We know that in the UK after this blackout, with 359 00:21:46,280 --> 00:21:50,240 Speaker 1: the addition of grid forming inverters and synchronous compensators, the 360 00:21:50,359 --> 00:21:53,880 Speaker 1: amount of renewables on the grid kept rising. The same 361 00:21:53,920 --> 00:21:56,720 Speaker 1: thing happened in Australia, where there was a blackout in 362 00:21:56,760 --> 00:22:00,399 Speaker 1: twenty sixteen, in a place where wind power was growing 363 00:22:00,480 --> 00:22:04,800 Speaker 1: very rapidly. They followed similar steps and now Australia has 364 00:22:04,840 --> 00:22:07,880 Speaker 1: a lot more wind and solar on its grid. So 365 00:22:08,800 --> 00:22:12,600 Speaker 1: are we seeing countries around the world recognize the need 366 00:22:12,680 --> 00:22:16,040 Speaker 1: for these grid stabilizing technologies and are they investing in it? 367 00:22:16,560 --> 00:22:20,719 Speaker 2: Unfortunately not, as you were just mentioning, what we are 368 00:22:20,760 --> 00:22:25,520 Speaker 2: seeing is countries reacting after a major event, a major 369 00:22:25,560 --> 00:22:29,680 Speaker 2: blackout happens. So what we know from research right Bloomberg 370 00:22:29,720 --> 00:22:32,600 Speaker 2: and EF is that investment in the grid is lagging 371 00:22:32,680 --> 00:22:36,080 Speaker 2: in comparison to how much is being invested on adding 372 00:22:36,119 --> 00:22:40,000 Speaker 2: renewables to the greed. So the twenty seven members of 373 00:22:40,040 --> 00:22:43,399 Speaker 2: the European Union plus the UK invest on average zero 374 00:22:43,440 --> 00:22:48,360 Speaker 2: point seven dollars in greed for every dollar spent on renewables. 375 00:22:49,119 --> 00:22:53,600 Speaker 2: Spain spent zero point three dollars for every dollar in 376 00:22:53,680 --> 00:22:56,520 Speaker 2: the greed, and that's the lowest among the countries that 377 00:22:56,560 --> 00:22:59,960 Speaker 2: Bloomberg and EF was tracking. And it's not just Spain. 378 00:23:00,560 --> 00:23:04,240 Speaker 2: There are blackouts everywhere in the world and they are 379 00:23:04,280 --> 00:23:09,240 Speaker 2: causing political backlash against renewable and that's something that politicians 380 00:23:09,320 --> 00:23:12,119 Speaker 2: can afford right now if they want to fulfill their 381 00:23:12,400 --> 00:23:17,040 Speaker 2: climate and their renewable commitments. So that's something that Antonio 382 00:23:17,160 --> 00:23:21,200 Speaker 2: Uterre is the Head of the United Nations himself recognized 383 00:23:21,240 --> 00:23:25,359 Speaker 2: in a speech in July where he asked countries to 384 00:23:25,520 --> 00:23:30,439 Speaker 2: really focus on greed investments and in greed infrastructure, saying 385 00:23:30,440 --> 00:23:33,560 Speaker 2: that the ratio that we were mentioning before, the ratio 386 00:23:33,640 --> 00:23:36,840 Speaker 2: between renewable investment and investment in the grid, should be 387 00:23:36,880 --> 00:23:37,600 Speaker 2: one to one. 388 00:23:38,080 --> 00:23:40,480 Speaker 1: Well, it's kind of interesting when the head of the 389 00:23:40,640 --> 00:23:44,240 Speaker 1: United Nations is talking about investments in the grid and 390 00:23:44,280 --> 00:23:47,679 Speaker 1: a speech like, clearly this is a big issue that 391 00:23:47,720 --> 00:23:50,600 Speaker 1: needs to be handled, and of course renewables are needed 392 00:23:50,640 --> 00:23:54,120 Speaker 1: for meeting climate goals, but they are also increasingly, especially 393 00:23:54,119 --> 00:23:56,880 Speaker 1: in developing countries, needed just to be able to keep 394 00:23:56,920 --> 00:23:59,199 Speaker 1: the cost of energy low, because we know these are 395 00:23:59,240 --> 00:24:03,440 Speaker 1: the cheapest source of electricity that can be built. Is 396 00:24:03,480 --> 00:24:06,359 Speaker 1: it just investments that are lacking or are there other 397 00:24:06,440 --> 00:24:10,400 Speaker 1: obstacles that are holding back countries like Spain from actually 398 00:24:10,440 --> 00:24:11,920 Speaker 1: deploying these technologies. 399 00:24:12,359 --> 00:24:16,480 Speaker 2: Investments and money are not the only bottlenecks. Actually, the 400 00:24:16,480 --> 00:24:21,120 Speaker 2: main bottlenecks are regulation and the time it takes for 401 00:24:21,240 --> 00:24:24,880 Speaker 2: each one of these machines, the synchronous compensatures and even 402 00:24:24,920 --> 00:24:27,920 Speaker 2: the greed forming inverters to be bought and installed into 403 00:24:27,960 --> 00:24:30,960 Speaker 2: the greed So, for example, the EU, the whole of 404 00:24:31,000 --> 00:24:34,439 Speaker 2: the EU operates under rules that were approved in twenty twelve, 405 00:24:34,560 --> 00:24:37,679 Speaker 2: so that's more than ten years old, and they have 406 00:24:37,880 --> 00:24:41,600 Speaker 2: been working EU institutions on an upgrade to the electricity 407 00:24:41,640 --> 00:24:44,119 Speaker 2: Network Code for the past two years, but there's no 408 00:24:44,280 --> 00:24:48,440 Speaker 2: clue on when that will become effective. So this upgrade 409 00:24:48,480 --> 00:24:51,640 Speaker 2: would in theory provide a framework for countries to then 410 00:24:51,680 --> 00:24:55,399 Speaker 2: set up their own stability markets, a necessary step towards 411 00:24:55,560 --> 00:24:59,120 Speaker 2: again encouraging companies to install devices like Spain has done now, 412 00:24:59,240 --> 00:25:03,600 Speaker 2: devices like c synchronous compensators and greed forming batteries. More 413 00:25:03,600 --> 00:25:07,840 Speaker 2: regulation is needed in Spain to keep evolving, to continue 414 00:25:08,359 --> 00:25:11,600 Speaker 2: encouraging companies and setting up these markets and this framework. 415 00:25:11,960 --> 00:25:16,399 Speaker 2: But what we have seen actually is that earlier in 416 00:25:16,440 --> 00:25:20,600 Speaker 2: the summer a degree with additional measures stalled in Congress. 417 00:25:20,840 --> 00:25:23,440 Speaker 2: What's happening has nothing to do with greed stability, but 418 00:25:23,520 --> 00:25:26,840 Speaker 2: the ruling Socialist party is in minority in Congress, so 419 00:25:26,920 --> 00:25:30,639 Speaker 2: it needs to agree with other parties to pass any 420 00:25:31,160 --> 00:25:35,040 Speaker 2: regulations at all. And once the regulation is sorted, as 421 00:25:35,280 --> 00:25:37,879 Speaker 2: we have seen in the EU and Spain, that's not 422 00:25:37,960 --> 00:25:40,840 Speaker 2: a quick or easy thing. Then starts the moment of 423 00:25:41,000 --> 00:25:45,280 Speaker 2: drawing up the contracts and setting the specifications, the technical 424 00:25:45,320 --> 00:25:49,560 Speaker 2: specifications for the machinery, whether it's a synchronous compensator or 425 00:25:49,640 --> 00:25:53,120 Speaker 2: greed forming battery. So we spoke to someone at Siemen's 426 00:25:53,320 --> 00:25:57,200 Speaker 2: Energy that told us that in Germany these documents can 427 00:25:57,240 --> 00:25:59,760 Speaker 2: be as long as two thousand pages and it can 428 00:25:59,800 --> 00:26:03,719 Speaker 2: take up to ten years to put them together and 429 00:26:03,800 --> 00:26:07,520 Speaker 2: then set up the tender and for companies to respond 430 00:26:07,520 --> 00:26:10,360 Speaker 2: to that and a winner to be declared. So it's 431 00:26:10,400 --> 00:26:13,920 Speaker 2: a very long process even when the regulations are in. 432 00:26:14,240 --> 00:26:16,639 Speaker 1: The Semen's Energy expert was also telling us it's not 433 00:26:16,840 --> 00:26:20,399 Speaker 1: like all countries do this. The UK does have leaner 434 00:26:20,520 --> 00:26:25,199 Speaker 1: regulations and can get synchronous compensators on the grid pretty quickly. 435 00:26:25,680 --> 00:26:29,080 Speaker 1: The Liverpool tender was one and the device was working 436 00:26:29,119 --> 00:26:32,280 Speaker 1: within eighteen months of it happening, So there are clearly 437 00:26:32,359 --> 00:26:36,160 Speaker 1: lots of lessons that countries can learn from each other. Now, 438 00:26:36,760 --> 00:26:39,760 Speaker 1: when we do this kind of reporting, we are spending 439 00:26:39,800 --> 00:26:42,440 Speaker 1: weeks and months talking to experts, going to places looking 440 00:26:42,480 --> 00:26:46,880 Speaker 1: at these devices. But editors want this story to reach 441 00:26:46,920 --> 00:26:50,439 Speaker 1: a big audience, and one of the frames that our editor, 442 00:26:50,680 --> 00:26:54,520 Speaker 1: Aaron Rudkoff, was very keen on us hitting in the 443 00:26:54,560 --> 00:26:58,560 Speaker 1: story was that is there kind of a hangover that 444 00:26:58,680 --> 00:27:03,639 Speaker 1: comes from deploying so much solar because it's cheap, because 445 00:27:03,640 --> 00:27:06,719 Speaker 1: it meets not just renewables goals, but also lowers the 446 00:27:06,760 --> 00:27:11,000 Speaker 1: cost of power on the grid. Are they going on 447 00:27:11,040 --> 00:27:14,399 Speaker 1: a sugar rush or alcohol bench just deploying lots and 448 00:27:14,440 --> 00:27:18,520 Speaker 1: lots of solar but not realizing what might be the outcomes. 449 00:27:18,800 --> 00:27:20,720 Speaker 1: What do you conclude having done this work. 450 00:27:20,960 --> 00:27:22,960 Speaker 3: I think it's a good metaphor. 451 00:27:23,200 --> 00:27:25,800 Speaker 2: We know how these countries have set up first very 452 00:27:25,840 --> 00:27:30,119 Speaker 2: ambitious renewable targets, So the EU has a clean energy 453 00:27:30,160 --> 00:27:33,240 Speaker 2: target of at least forty two percent by twenty thirty, 454 00:27:33,480 --> 00:27:36,600 Speaker 2: whilst Spain has an even more ambitious target of eighty 455 00:27:36,640 --> 00:27:40,280 Speaker 2: one percent by the end of this decade. Then we 456 00:27:40,320 --> 00:27:44,160 Speaker 2: saw how the cost of renewables went down, and they 457 00:27:44,200 --> 00:27:47,439 Speaker 2: became the perfect solution to provide cheap energy at a 458 00:27:47,480 --> 00:27:48,320 Speaker 2: time when there. 459 00:27:48,240 --> 00:27:51,320 Speaker 3: Was a cost of living crisis. So obviously that was 460 00:27:51,400 --> 00:27:55,240 Speaker 3: the perfect solution. But they just forgot the very. 461 00:27:55,920 --> 00:27:59,280 Speaker 2: Important thing that the grid does, which is connect the 462 00:27:59,560 --> 00:28:03,240 Speaker 2: place where the power is produced with the places where the. 463 00:28:03,200 --> 00:28:04,120 Speaker 3: Power is consumed. 464 00:28:04,160 --> 00:28:06,840 Speaker 2: And that's when the hangover comes in in form of 465 00:28:06,880 --> 00:28:11,840 Speaker 2: a terrible blackout that leaves a whole country to countries 466 00:28:11,880 --> 00:28:17,400 Speaker 2: actually without power for hours, and people suddenly asking about 467 00:28:17,760 --> 00:28:22,680 Speaker 2: devices that no one was concerned about before. Synchronous compensators, 468 00:28:22,760 --> 00:28:25,879 Speaker 2: creed forming inverters. Suddenly everyone in Spain. Now it has 469 00:28:25,920 --> 00:28:28,800 Speaker 2: become part of the conversation why don't we have these 470 00:28:28,840 --> 00:28:30,360 Speaker 2: things that are hangover? 471 00:28:31,520 --> 00:28:33,680 Speaker 1: Yes, this is a lot of fun to report, quite 472 00:28:33,680 --> 00:28:37,480 Speaker 1: a nerdy story, but such an important solution. Thank you Laura, 473 00:28:37,680 --> 00:28:43,840 Speaker 1: thank you Action, and thank you for listening to zero 474 00:28:44,280 --> 00:28:54,440 Speaker 1: now for the sound of the week. That is the 475 00:28:54,520 --> 00:28:57,120 Speaker 1: sound of the synchronous compensator. I went to see in 476 00:28:57,160 --> 00:29:01,040 Speaker 1: Liverpool loud Huh. To read full report on the Spanish 477 00:29:01,080 --> 00:29:03,480 Speaker 1: blackout and the solutions to deal with it, head to 478 00:29:03,480 --> 00:29:05,760 Speaker 1: Bloomberg dot com or find a link in the show 479 00:29:05,760 --> 00:29:08,440 Speaker 1: notes If you like this episode, please take a moment 480 00:29:08,520 --> 00:29:11,040 Speaker 1: to rate and review the show on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. 481 00:29:11,480 --> 00:29:14,200 Speaker 1: Share this episode with a friend or with someone who 482 00:29:14,320 --> 00:29:17,840 Speaker 1: likes spinning things. This episode was produced by Oscar Boy. 483 00:29:18,400 --> 00:29:21,640 Speaker 1: Our theme music is composed by Wonderly Special. Thanks to 484 00:29:21,720 --> 00:29:25,520 Speaker 1: everyone involved in reporting this story. Haley Warren, Tom Fabrere, 485 00:29:25,880 --> 00:29:31,200 Speaker 1: Will Mathis, Thomas Goulthieri, Emily Busso, Aaron Rudkoff, som Nadbat 486 00:29:31,240 --> 00:29:34,720 Speaker 1: and Jody Maxin i'm Akshatrati Back soon.