Lessons from the Blackout: Why Our Solar Panels Weren’t Enough

Like the rest of Portugal, we were caught off guard by the massive blackout that brought both Portugal and Spain to a standstill. At the farm, confusion quickly set in-after an hour of troubleshooting, we couldn’t find any issues with our solar panels. The sun was shining, the system seemed operational, yet we had no electricity. How was that possible? 

When the electrician from the village arrived, he delivered an unexpected revelation: even with solar panels, we were still tied to the grid. That meant when the central system went down, so did we—despite having a perfectly functional renewable energy source. It was a frustrating realization. One of our key goals in remodeling the farm was to live more independently, not entirely off-grid but with greater self-sufficiency. And yet, at the first real test, we found ourselves powerless (literally) for twelve long hours. 

But as frustrating as it was, the blackout brought unexpected gifts. Forced to slow even more, we spent the evening by candlelight, talking instead of scrolling, rediscovering the quieter rhythm of off-grid living, and most importantly this experience, pushed us to rethink our energy setup and taught us a critical lesson: true energy independence requires more than just solar panels. Now, we are taking steps to ensure we can disconnect from the grid during future outages. While we are not adding batteries just yet, we wll at least guarantee power when the sun is shining—no matter what happens beyond our land. 

Sometimes, it takes a blackout to shed light on what’s missing.