Red Eléctrica, the Redeia subsidiary responsible for the operation and transmission of the national electricity system, is marking the 220 kilovolt (kV) Almaraz-Torrejón electricity transmission line as it passes through the Monfragüe Natural Park, in Cáceres, with bird diverter markers to protect the birdlife that uses this corridor.  

The marking is being carried out in coordination with the Junta de Extremadura and the Monfragüe National Park and will be installed along the 8.36 km of the grounding cable of the line that runs through the natural park, between the municipalities of Serrejón and Toril.

In total, some 1,200 reflective devices will be installed every seven metres of the line by means of a semi-automatic beaconing machine. These devices increase visibility and increase the detection of power line cables by birds, thus avoiding the risk of impact and protecting, in this case, the black vulture and other species that fly over the area of the national park.

The project, which involves an investment of over 24,000 euros, will continue until 13 January and is being carried out without affecting the technical complexity involved in this type of work, as the line needs to be taken out of service without affecting the guarantee of the electricity supply.

Committed to the protection of birdlife

Red Eléctrica, in its commitment to sustainability and the protection and conservation of birdlife, is working on the "Birds and power lines: mapping of bird flight paths " project, a tool that allows for the identification and mapping of the areas of presence and flight paths of birds, enabling the development of sensitivity maps that identify the areas of greatest potential risk of collision in order to adopt the most appropriate and effective corrective measures, and to improve the compatibility of electricity facilities with birds.

To this end, the Company has a Marking Plan to which it allocates over a million euros annually and acts on more than 200 kilometres of lines identified each year internally and with the collaboration of the regional administrations and environmental organisations.

In addition, Red Eléctrica carries out an ongoing study of the effectiveness of the different line signalling systems and research into new protection devices, and undertakes different actions to ensure the safe interaction of birdlife with the electricity pylons when they use them as nesting, resting or surveillance sites.