One day after the colossal blackout that left tens of millions of people without electricity in the Iberian Peninsula, the Spanish socialist president, Pedro Sánchez, blamed nuclear power plants for "being a problem" during the blackout.
"Nuclear power plants, far from being a solution, have been a problem because they were shut down, and it was necessary to divert large amounts of energy to them to keep their cores stable," stated Sánchez during a press conference.
The statement is not only technically incorrect but also reflects an alarming lack of understanding, or a deliberate misrepresentation, of the role that nuclear energy plays in the Spanish electrical system.
In response to this attack on nuclear energy, engineer Alfredo García, a nuclear reactor operator and a recognized voice in scientific dissemination, was blunt: "The president lies about nuclear power plants or demonstrates his ignorance about electrical technology by accusing them of worsening the April 28, 2025 blackout."
According to García, nuclear power plants, far from being a "problem," are precisely one of the pillars of stability of a modern electrical system. One of their main virtues is the contribution of inertia to the system, an essential physical property for maintaining stability in the face of frequency disturbances, like those that precipitated the April 28 collapse.
This inertia is not provided by either wind farms or photovoltaic solar installations, intermittent technologies and weather-dependent, which are promoted by Sánchez's government, while at the same time combating the use of nuclear energy.
