
As an energy company committed to expanding our fleet of renewable energy resources for our customers and partners, and supporting initiatives that focus on sustainable energy models, we value stewardship and conservation in numerous ways across the business.
We actively partner with nonprofit conservation and environmental organizations to deliver energy, new projects and to work collaboratively and transparently with regulatory agencies at the local, state and federal levels. This commitment to healthier, sustainable communities begins with strict compliance with environmental laws, regulations and applicable industry standards. However, we strive to look beyond our obligations to mitigate and contain the impact of our activities, and actively seek to protect our local and global environments.
Our Networks business is investing in a long-term integrated plan for protected species. Our Renewables business has a long legacy of developing, constructing, and operating projects in accordance with agency guidance and environmental best practices, including the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Land-based Wind Energy Guidelines, Avian Power Line Interaction suggested practices, and Renewables’ own Wildlife Protection Program and Avian Protection Plan.
In 2021, we just under $1 million in programs specifically to protect fish, wildlife, and natural habitats.
Preserving ecosystems and biological diversity is essential for sustainable development. By integrating this thinking into our day-to-day environmental management practices, we can help preserve these precious resources for future generations.
BATS
The Avangrid Foundation provided $100,000 to the Bats for the Future Fund, a public-private partnership by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) that in 2018 announced $1.1 million in grants to combat a fungal illness that is devastating bat populations across the United States.
White-nose syndrome has been blamed for the deaths of more than six million bats nationwide in the last decade. It is caused by a fungus that attacks bats as they hibernate during the winter. According to the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, without a solution, several bat species are under threat of extinction.
Other organizations partnering with the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation in the initiative to combat the disease include the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the U.S. Forest Service and Southern Company. The Avangrid Foundation continued to build on this collaboration in 2022.
Read more about how AVANGRID is protecting bats and their homes.
SQUIRRELS
From a squirrel’s perspective, the lines and poles of an electric grid are just an extension of their natural arboreal habitat. Unfortunately, when
squirrels and other small animals come into contact with power lines and similar equipment, the encounter often results in a disruption of reliable service – and the death of the animal. In November 2018, some 12,000 customers of New York State Electric & Gas lost service after an unfortunate squirrel scurried into a Buffalo-area substation — just one of many animal contact events on Avangrid Networks’ electric systems last year. In many areas, our companies now install protective equipment at key locations, including “animal arrestors” that dissuade animals from intruding into the system.
MONK PARAKEETS
The monk parakeet is a social parrot species native to South America that in recent decades has established populations along the coast of the northeastern United States. They build large, communal nests from sticks and twigs. Among their favored nesting locations are the tops of utility poles, where the nests can cause fires, disrupt reliable service and obstruct access to transformers and other equipment. Working in
consultation with state environmental protection agencies and nonprofit groups, our companies have employed a variety of strategies — including construction of alternate nesting platforms — to remove the nests or encourage the birds to build their nests in safer locations.
BIRDS OF PREY
Populations of raptors such as ospreys and bald eagles have been rebounding after decades of decline. These birds seek seasonal nesting sites high above the bodies of water that serve as their hunting grounds. Avangrid Network companies have developed a work practice to build alternate nesting platforms for ospreys, where appropriate, to discourage them from nesting in electric distribution and transmission structures. Their nests pose a fire hazard that can endanger the birds and any hatchlings, as well as threatening to disrupt electric service. This approach has been a success at several sites in Connecticut, where ospreys have returned to the nesting platforms year after year. Bald eagles are increasingly found in areas where our companies operate. Working with state environmental officials, we have sought to help this magnificent bird of prey to thrive by limiting construction and maintenance activities near their nesting sites.
Renewables implements an Avian Protection Plan (APP) that aligns with the Avian Power Line Interaction Committee suggested practices to reduce risk to birds and other wildlife from overhead power lines and substations through siting, design, and, insulating electrical components. These efforts protect wildlife and facility operations.
SNOWBIRDS RETURN EACH YEAR TO NEW PERCH THANKS TO NYSEG
The Osprey is a predatory bird that is listed as a species of special concern by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, and every spring it returns to the Finger Lakes region of New York to mate and prey on the fish living in the famous waterbodies.
Since the early 1990s, NYSEG employees have been relocating Osprey nesting systems from utility poles. In some cases, the crews would construct extenders to increase the height of the pole and allow the bird to nest away from the equipment. Additionally, the NYSEG crews erect decoy poles or separate nesting systems further away from the power equipment.
This work has led to great partnerships with community organizations like the Cayuga Bird Club, and is made possible with company and volunteer resources, not only to protect wildlife, but to also safeguard our electricity delivery systems from interference caused by nesting birds.
CONDOR
Since 2019 the Avangrid Foundation has provided $185,000 to organizations who have a focus on Condor preservation and breeding.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has outfitted most free-flying condors with a VHF radio transmitter, GPS transmitter or both to track their locations. This technology provides the opportunity to detect and respond to condors in proximity to operating wind plants.
Avangrid Renewables has contracted with a third party to monitor Condor movements using geofence technology, which utilizes the GPS transmitters attached to condors. If a condor comes in proximity to turbines at the Manzana Wind Power Plant, a notification is sent to the company’s National Control Center, who can then curtail wind turbines until the bird has left the area. Utilizing this type of technology helps manage risks to the species, as well as operation of the wind farm. Our operations personnel are always on the alert for potential wildlife concerns at the site , per the company’s Wildlife Protection Program, coordinating closely with the Wildlife Compliance team.
The Manzana Wind Power Plant obtained an Incidental Take Permit for California condors from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in 2021. A California condor Conservation Plan was prepared in support of the permit application and environmental review process. The Conservation Plan includes an innovative approach to mitigation by committing over $300,000 to fund an additional full-time employee at the Oregon Zoo’s Jonsson Center for Wildlife Conservation (JCWC) for at least three years. The purpose of funding an additional full-time employee is to directly contribute to the enhanced and successful production of condors at the JCWC and subsequent release of these birds into the wild.
The Zoo’s Jonsson Center for Wildlife Conservation is located in rural Clackamas County, Oregon, and is home to one of the largest condor breeding facilities in the country. The California condor Conservation Plan complements Avangrid Renewables’ comprehensive Wildlife Protection Program and supports the long-term recovery of California condors in the American West.