This year, the company will voluntarily install bird-saving devices on 160 kilometers of the network in the Pyrenees, Picos de Europa, El Maestrazgo and Sierra de Cazorla.

“The proposal agreed with the Foundation for the Conservation of the Bearded Vulture (FCQ) is very relevant and innovative for the conservation of the species in Spain,” says the president of the organization.

Red Eléctrica señalizará también todas las líneas con riesgo crítico para la avifauna en Aragón, Principado de Asturias, Cantabria, La Rioja, Navarra y la provincia de León.

Red Eléctrica, the Redeia company responsible for the transmission and operation of the electricity system in Spain, will mark this year with bird-saving devices the lines located in the main flight zones of the bearded vulture as a measure to protect practically the entire population of this species in our country. With this, more than 6,000 kilometers of the transport network will be marked before the end of the year with bird-saving devices to protect birdlife and natural capital throughout the country. The company’s commitment is to mark 100% of critical spans in the network by 2025. In addition to the 160 km of the bearded vulture signaling plan, Red Eléctrica will install devices this year in all the transmission grid lines with critical risk for birdlife according to the Flight Corridors project, which run in Aragón, Principality of Asturias, Cantabria, La Rioja, Navarra and the province of León, totaling more than 46 km. The bearded vulture marking plan is voluntary and was created at the initiative of Red Eléctrica after analyzing thousands of geolocation data of 66 specimens identified and marked by FCQ in the Pyrenees, Picos de Europa, Gredos and El Maestrazgo, provided by FCQ, as well as other data provided by the Government of Aragón. After cross-checking information on the main flight areas of this species in Spain with that of the transport network, the company has determined the sections of the line to be marked to avoid the risk of collision. “This action represents an important commitment to the conservation of biodiversity by mitigating a threat that affects a large number of species besides the bearded vulture, mainly birds of prey, some of them also listed as threatened, such as imperial eagles, kites or Bonelli’s eagles,” says Gerardo Báguena, President of the FCQ. “Protecting birdlife is one of the many commitments we have in Red Eléctrica to conserve biodiversity far beyond what is required by law. With this plan we continue to work to map the areas of presence and flight paths of all types of birds and guarantee the good coexistence between the transmission grid and birdlife”, explains Fernando Crespo, head of the Environment Department of Red Eléctrica. The measure is part of the collaboration that Red Eléctrica maintains with the FCQ with the objective of contributing to the recovery of this species in the main mountain massifs of the country. All of this is part of a European LIFE project. Within the framework of this collaboration, the company has collaborated with the purchase of 12 GPS satellite devices to improve the scientific monitoring of the species, as well as in the development of working sessions on regulations and other aspects with the technical team of the foundation. This special signaling plan covers 160 kilometers of power transmission lines located in the Pyrenees, Picos de Europa, El Maestrazgo and Sierra de Cazorla, as these are the areas with the greatest presence of this bird, catalogued as endangered.