8.3.2. Ecological aisle management

GRI 304-2, GRI 304-3 Until recently, the standard maintenance policy for overhead lines involved ensuring that a corridor under our lines which measured approximately 50 meters wide was kept clear of all vegetation with a rotary slasher every eight years16 .

To build an overhead line in forest areas, aisles are created. The conductor cables need sufficient clearance on either side and below them to make sure they are safe, which means trees have to be removed along certain sections and at regular intervals along these aisles. However, trees and shrubs provide habitats for numerous animals and plants. Therefore, the goal is to minimise any negative impacts on these natural areas as far as possible in the long term whilst increasing biodiversity. Both Elia Transmission Belgium SA/NV and 50Hertz Transmission GmbH have been developing ecological aisle management initiatives that are in line with the EU’s biodiversity strategy. The strategy, which was officially adopted in May 2020, considers ecological corridors to be part of a real trans-European nature protection network and, thus, sees them as a key obligation to improve biodiversity.

Within the ActNow programme, we have set a target related to biodiversity, by 2030, 90% of the forest corridors where our lines are located will be managed ecologically.

16 This obligation can be indirectly beneficial to specific ecosystems of great ecological value; for example, the moors (in the High Fens nature reserve, in the eastern part of Belgium) are better protected when corridors are established under overhead lines crossing them, because the rest of the moors were planted with trees for wood production and by draining these areas.

ELIA IN BELGIUM

Between 2012 and 2017, Elia Transmission Belgium SA/NV (which used to be Elia System Operator SA/NV until the end of 2019) was a front-runner in the implementation of the seven-year LIFE project.

Our project partner for this was the ecological engineering consultancy Ecofirst. The first “Elia LIFE” project, for which Elia System Operator SA/ NV joined forces with the French transmission system operator RTE, was partly funded by the European Commission and the Region of Wallonia. The project aimed to create green corridors which would enhance biodiversity under overhead electrical lines in forest areas. Elia System Operator SA/NV restored 427 ha stable natural environments below its lines (through peat bogs, bushes and grassland managed by grazing). In 2018, Elia System Operator SA/NV decided to continue this project for another five years without receiving any subsidies under the name “Life2” by adding more green corridors around its lines (amounting to a total of 154 ha at the end of the 2018-2021 period). The other objective of this project was to further monitor changes to these areas and their maintenance in order to assess their impact on biodiversity. The results are highly encouraging, with 98% of evaluated sites showing conclusive outcomes.

Further information on these projects can be found on this website: http://www.life-elia.eu/

As the project continues, the focus is on electrical lines located in Natura 2000 zones.

Besides these “Elia Life” projects, another 151 ha of ecological aisles were managed in a similar way around our lines in the Flemish region in 2021. Elia Transmission Belgium SA/NV is currently exploring how to develop its internal geographical grid database to track all the areas where these specific management measures have been put in place.

50HERTZ IN GERMANY

For several years now, 50Hertz Transmission GmbH has been focusing on ecological route management. During the regular maintenance of routes, ecological considerations such as the removal of individual trees and the management of their health are taken into account across more than two thirds of forest corridors located across the entire grid area. Pilot activities started in recent years in ecological route management areas along existing roads (such as the creation of forest edges or the establishment of species-rich meadows and pastures) are now part of an overall strategy to increase biodiversity. Currently, a geodatabase is being created that outlines and organises all activities along lines that contribute to increasing biodiversity; this database will serve as a guide for deciding on further action. Currently, almost 100 line sections have already been recorded in this database. The geodatabase also outlines the spatial relationship between forest corridors and protected areas in the 50Hertz Transmission GmbH network area. Based on this, 50Hertz Transmission GmbH is able to contribute to the EU Biodiversity Strategy 2030. As part of ActNow, 50Hertz Transmission GmbH has set itself the goal of introducing ecological route management across 95% of suitable routes by 2030. In order to further develop our approach to biodiversity and ecological management in the future, we have started holding discussions about these specific topics with external stakeholders, such as nature conservation organisations and universities.