The 2023 Brazil Blackout
On 15 August 2023, Brazil: Losing one 500 kV line in the northeast cascaded across Brazil because wind and solar farms gave the grid less voltage support than their models promised.
Key Facts
- The disturbance began at 8:30am on 15 August 2023.
- Losing one transmission line in Ceará interrupted about 23,400 megawatts of load across Brazil.
- Wind and solar farms gave less voltage support than their models predicted.
- Full restoration of loads was authorised at 2:49pm.
What Happened
At 8:30 on the morning of 15 August 2023, a 500 kV line between Quixadá and Fortaleza II in the state of Ceará opened automatically at its Quixadá end when its protection system acted during normal operation. There was no short circuit on the system.
Voltage then fell sharply across the region. Brazil's grid operator, ONS, found that the wind and solar farms near the line performed far worse in the field than in the models they had supplied, which ONS's studies relied on. More lines opened, and the north, northeast and Acre and Rondônia areas separated from the rest of the national grid. Automatic load shedding limited the damage, but about 23,368 MW of load was interrupted, 12,689 MW in the north and northeast and 10,680 MW in the south, southeast and centre west. Roraima, which is supplied separately from the national grid, kept its power.
Restoration began at 8:43 in the south, which was complete at 9:05, and the southeast was complete at 9:33. ONS authorised full restoration of loads at 14:49. It published its final disturbance analysis on 18 October 2023, noting that it was the report with the highest number of registered measures.
Cause
Loss of one line, then wind and solar farms supplying less voltage support than their models predicted
Researched independently from public reporting, not from this site's own data. Source: ONS (Operador Nacional do Sistema Elétrico).
Related
Cite this page
World Power Monitor. (2023). The 2023 Brazil Blackout: What Happened and Why. https://worldpowermonitor.com/grid-events/brazil-blackout-2023/
World Power Monitor. The 2023 Brazil Blackout: What Happened and Why. Data as of 2023-08-15. https://worldpowermonitor.com/grid-events/brazil-blackout-2023/
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title = {{The 2023 Brazil Blackout: What Happened and Why}},
author = {{World Power Monitor}},
year = {2023},
note = {Data as of 2023-08-15.},
url = {https://worldpowermonitor.com/grid-events/brazil-blackout-2023/}
} Permalink: https://worldpowermonitor.com/grid-events/brazil-blackout-2023/
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