2023
Europe
The intersection of powerlines and bird mortality presents a pressing concern within avian conservation. Countless birds die every year through collisions or electrocutions with electricity infrastructure, highlighting the need for bird-friendly designs and an overview of what mitigations measures works best. Therefore, the Nature and Biodiversity Conservation Union/Birdlife Germany (NABU) commissioned a meta-analysis of European bird-friendly practices and infrastructure design to address these concerns and bring clarity.
Raptor Protection Slovakia (RPS) conducted the NABU study entitled Electrocutions & Collisions of Birds in EU Countries: The Negative Impact & Best Pratices for Mitigation, by sending a questionnaire to a range of parties across all 27 EU member states, and through a literature review of published material. The survey covers:
- An overview of the issue of electrocution and collision
- Bird species at risk
- National grid infrastructure
- Implemented mitigation measures and prevention practices
- National and EU legislative policy frameworks.
With this information, they demonstrate the negative impact of grid infrastructure on bird life and best practices for mitigation across Europe.
Highlights
01
Shows case studies based on the implementation of bird-friendly design in pylon and powerline infrastructure.
02
Evaluate the effectiveness of bird flight diverters (BFDs) – wire markers – in preventing collision.
03
Spotlights different legislative approaches at the national and EU level concerning bird protection in relation to energy infrastructure.
Main Information
In recent years, more attention and policy initiatives have recognised the need to address bird mortality caused by electricity infrastructure. Companies and governments continually develop new approaches and products to reduce electrocution and collision mortality rates as they are both an issue for biodiversity and electricity service reliability. However, these new initiatives across European Member States are not carried out or documented in a standardised manner. Thus, a meta-study was required to address the full complexity of the issue of birds mortality and bring clarity on the status quo. The study conducted by RPS gives a general overview of knowledge about bird mortality along the electrical grid and the national biodiversity protection policies.
The main focus is to address the occurrence of electrocution and collision.
Electrocution occurs when there is little space to perch between live or earthed components on a pylon. It occurs either by short-circuiting (a bird creates a bridge between two live components) or by creating an earth fault (a bird touches an earthed and a live component). The most deadly pylons are medium voltage (1-53kv), as they have less space between components. Some high voltage powerlines still pose a risk as they include complex designs with jumper wires that can affect birds of all sizes.
Below is a brief summary of some available solutions (find more on pages 25-37 of the report)
- Undergrounding of lines: entirely removes risk, but expensive and not always technically possible.
- Anti-perching devices: not effective and reduces space available for perching birds which increases the chances of electrocution.
- Wing spacers: are not fully effective in bird protection.
- Covering and insulation of elements: effective but must be installed correctly with quality materials, as current ones have a short lifespan.
- Installation of safe perching locations: effective with insulation.
- Re-design of pylons: effective, by changing the position of live elements through pylon redesign (e.g. pin-conductors hanging below the cross arm, rather than sitting on top), it is possible to create space for birds to perch safely, even upon opening their wings.
Collision occurs when birds fly directly into electrical lines, mainly the earth/ground wire (80% of collisions). The four factors influencing risk of collision can be divided into biological (physiology and behaviour), topographical (proximity of the powerline to feeding grounds, nesting habitats, and migration routes), meteorological (high wind, low light, other inclement weather), and technical (height of pylons and powerlines, vertical division of aerial space, and presence of earth wires).
Below is a brief summary of some available solutions (find more on pages 46-52 of the report)
- Redesign of powerline configuration: effective, but not always practical and difficult to implement after the planning phase is over.
- Installation of Bird Flight Diverters (BFDs): Can be effective, but depends heavily on species and a range of other factors.
- Undergrounding of lines: entirely removes risk, but expensive and not always technically possible.
These solutions are all tied to organisational coordination between NGOs, TSOs, DSOs, regulators and authorities. The level of enforcement and types of regulations affect what is implemented on the lines. It is further complicated as many European countries are a part of the same conventions dedicated to conserving biodiversity and birdlife but have different approaches to implementation. The report concludes that cohesive European regulation would set a standard framework beyond the different levels of innovation occurring at the national level. This would benefit avian species as they fly across protected and non-protected areas in Europe and further.
For an in-depth overview of the different policy and regulatory contexts of all 27 EU Member States, consult chapter 6 of the report.
Further information
The solutions shown above are a small sample of what the study further outlines within the report and the annexes. Interested parties are encouraged to look not only at the solutions but also at the regulations implemented by each country and the types of cooperation between conservation groups, legislators, and grid operators.
other practices
