State Grid Shaanxi: Protecting Birds with Better Transmission Towers

The crested ibis is a nationally protected animal in China, and they produce offspring from March to June each year. Adult birds in the wild often build their nests and lay eggs on power transmission towers.

Crested ibis, photo via State Grid Shaanxi

The towers are taller than ordinary trees, which helps the ibises evade natural predators as well as preventing nests from being destroyed by extreme weather events such as heavy storms. However, birds nesting on the towers can affect circuit safety and lead to tripping or other events; it's also easy for them to accidentally get shocked by electricity. To protect these birds, the employees of State Grid Shaanxi Electric Power Co., Ltd. have installed wind-solar bird protectors on the power transmission towers.

Power grid in Yangxian County, Shaanxi, photo via State Grid Shaanxi

The protector is wind-driven and has a reflector that reflects sunshine, making it highly visible to birds and thus not an attractive place to nest. It therefore protects both the circuit safety and the birds.

A wind-solar bird protector, photo via State Grid Shaanxi

The power grid is a key piece of energy infrastructure and an important vehicle of ecological civilization. In recent years, Shaanxi's State Grid has made great efforts towards providing green, low-carbon, clean energy and simultaneously contributing to biodiversity protection. Taking this kind of actions to protect both birds and power supplies is one way of realizing a harmonious coexistence between humans and nature.