RGI launches a new report today to summarise the state of play in the European Union regarding the roll-out of Integrated Vegetation Management (IVM) in grid corridors. We also announce a new working group of European transmission and distribution system operators (TSOs and DSOs) to identify barriers, solutions, and priority areas for action. This will bring us towards a new, coordinated approach to IVM implementation in Europe.
Integrated vegetation management (IVM) is an approach to managing the vegetation in the spaces beneath power lines – ‘grid corridors’ – that focusses on the ecological health of the affected area, while still removing vegetation which could interfere with system security by touching a line. This often includes selective removal of fast-growing trees and invasive species, and promoting low-growing native plants, creating new habitats that thrive among these plant communities, and exploring new economic opportunities for local stakeholders. Compared to conventional vegetation management, whereby grid operators periodically clearcut vegetation in the corridors, IVM has been proven to bring many benefits for nature, people, and grid operators alike.
Building on several years of work on this topic, in 2023 RGI launched a new series of in-person workshops for European TSOs and DSOs to further the discussion and advance the cause of IVM. The workshop focussed largely on the experiences and lessons gathered by the Belgian TSO, Elia, and their implementation partner Ecofirst, under the project LIFE Elia-RTE (2011-2017) and subsequent continuation of IVM roll-out. By convening grid operators to share learnings, obstacles, and successful approaches, this workstream represents the next step in promoting IVM in different geographies & regulatory contexts of Europe.
Today’s report serves to summarise the content of the first workshop in this series and bring new insights to the state of affairs of IVM adoption in Europe. Importantly, the report summarises discussions and open questions of grid operators in order to identify the priorities for future work. These topics will be furthered within a working group which is open to all grid operators and will convene quarterly.
If you are interested in joining the working group or have questions about IVM, don’t hesitate to contact Liam Innis, RGI’s Manager – Energy Ecosystems at liam@renewables-grid.eu.
