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From: piglet <erichpwagner@hotmail.com>
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Subject: =?UTF-8?Q?Re:=20Causes=20of=20the=20Gran=20Apag=C3=B3n?=
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Date: Thu, 10 Jul 2025 11:54:09 -0000 (UTC)
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Joe Gwinn <joegwinn@comcast.net> wrote:
> On Wed, 09 Jul 2025 21:49:09 GMT, Glen Walpert <nospam@null.void>
> wrote:
> 
>> On Wed, 9 Jul 2025 23:07:26 +0200, Carlos E.R. wrote:
>> 
>>> On 2025-07-09 22:57, Joe Gwinn wrote:
>>>> On Wed, 9 Jul 2025 22:10:21 +0200, "Carlos E.R."
>>>> <robin_listas@es.invalid> wrote:
>>>> 
>>>>> On 2025-06-17 21:38, Carlos E.R. wrote:
>>>>>> <https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/jun/17/expert-report-rules-
>> out-
>>>>>> cyber-attack-for-spain-and-portugal-april-blackout>
>>>>>> 
>>>>>>     *Spanish minister rules out cyber-attack as cause of April
>>>>>> blackout, after expert report*
>>>>>> 
>>>>>>     System failure caused by network’s inability to control grid
>>>>>> voltage said to be behind outage in Spain and Portugal
>>>>>> 
>>>>>> 
>>>>> <https://elperiodicodelaenergia.com/el-gobierno-aprueba-la-
>> instalacion-de-compensadores-sincronos-y-refuerza-la-interconexion-con-
>> francia/>
>>>>> 
>>>>> Energy policy
>>>>> 
>>>>> *The Government approves the installation of synchronous compensators
>>>>> and reinforces the interconnection with France*
>>>>> 
>>>>> The 65 actions are aimed at incorporating additional tools into the
>>>>> networks to facilitate voltage control, stability in the event of
>>>>> oscillations and, in general, to reinforce the electricity system
>>>>> Redacción
>>>>> 
>>>>> Editorial staff
>>>>> 
>>>>> 07/08/2025
>>>>> 
>>>>> The Council of Ministers, at the request of the Ministry for
>>>>> Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge (Miteco), has
>>>>> approved a list of specific actions to increase the resilience of the
>>>>> electricity grid,
>>>>> which will be incorporated as a new Specific Modification to the
>>>>> Development Plan for the Electricity Transmission Grid 2021-2026, the
>>>>> second, after the one implemented in 2024. The list includes 65
>>>>> actions aimed at incorporating additional tools into the grids to
>>>>> facilitate voltage control, stability in the event of fluctuations
>>>>> and, in general,
>>>>> the reinforcement of the electricity system, both on the Spanish
>>>>> mainland and in the Canary Islands and Balearic Islands.
>>>>> 
>>>>> The actions include the installation of synchronous compensators for
>>>>> the first time on the mainland, as well as the incorporation of new
>>>>> units on the islands. These devices provide dynamic voltage control
>>>>> and, given their local nature, are distributed geographically to
>>>>> reinforce it in the different areas, complementing the equipment and
>>>>> solutions that the system already has for this function.
>>>>> 
>>>>> Translated with DeepL.com (free version)
>>>>> 
>>>>> ... You can read the rest on the link if desired.
>>>> 
>>>> I did.  Thanks.
>>>> 
>>>> What exactly do they mean by "Synchronous Compensators"?
>>> 
>>> I don't know, I'm not an electrical engineer. But one of the comments
>>> may explain a bit:
>>> 
>>> Frank
>>> 
>>> 07/08/2025 Synchronous compensators are reverse generators acting as
>>> motors connected to the grid. What follows is simulations to determine
>>> where on the grid they are most effective, power and costs because like
>>> all motors they take active power from the grid which is priced on an
>>> hourly basis. And the last thing is who will pay for the voltage control
>>> service and how the installed equipment will be accounted for.
>> 
>> Synchronous Compensators are also known as Rotary Capacitors, they are 
>> unloaded synchronous motors which, like synchronous generators, will 
>> deliver reactive power (same as a capacitor) when overexcited, and consume 
>> reactive power when underexcited (like an inductor).  They have been in 
>> common use since the early days of power distribution to produce reactive 
>> power near loads, to reduce the amount remote generation needs to send 
>> over transmission lines, with the attendant losses.  Regular capacitors 
>> are also used for this purpose, but the rotary type is continuously 
>> adjustable.
> 
> Yeah.  I read Frank's comment as well, and he may well be correct, but
> one cannot assume that politicians are being quite that precise.
> 
> In the mechanical world, it's quite common to have a large but
> unloaded three-phase induction motor running at or near synchronous
> speed, precisely to absorb surge loads, and it would also serve to
> absorb surge overvoltages ... if they are large enough.  The energy is
> stored in the rotational energy of the rotor.
> 
> Do we have any idea how big these Synchronous Compensators are, in
> kilograms?
> 
> The good news is that they are talking spinning reserve, like big
> turbines, not fancy electronics and batteries.
> 
> Joe
> 

100 to 400 tons seem to be the figures quoted.

-- 
piglet