#EnergyWings: DTEK Donetsk Grids installed protective stork nest platforms in the Pokrovsky and Kramatorsky districts
DTEK Donetsk Grids installed artificial platforms to protect the stork nest from collapse in the villages of Novofedorovka, Pokrovsky district and Shandrigolovo, Kramatorsky district. Such platforms are part of a large-scale environmental educational project #EnergyWings, launched in 2021 by DTEK Grids. The main goal is to preserve the white stork population in Ukraine and draw public attention to the problem of biodiversity loss and the environment protection.
Purpose-built metal structures protect stork nests from slipping onto the power line and minimize the risks of power outages because of such incidents. The platform is a sturdy basket made of metal rods. It lifts the nest above the power line to a height of more than a meter and can support the weight of both the nest and the birds. Thus, heavy nests, sometimes weighing up to 500 kg, do not slip onto the wires. Birds are protected from electric shock, and lines are protected from short circuits and power cuts.
“Biodiversity conservation is one of the important focus areas of our company, which is in line with the DTEK 2030 strategy based on ESG principles, values and business responsibility for progress in achieving the sustainable development goals of the UN Global Compact. New platforms in the villages of Novofedorovka and Shandrigolovo are another step towards preserving the biodiversity in the Donetsk region. Since 2015, we have installed 18 of these structures. According to ecologists, over 5 years, such initiative preserves about 200 white storks, 120 of which are chicks,” says Oleksii Degtyarev, General Director for DTEK Donetsk Grids.
White storks are listed in the Bern Convention on the Conservation of European Wildlife and Natural Habitats and are considered to be close to extinction. Through projects such as #EnergyWings, the company helps preserve the population of these birds and draws public attention to the problem of biodiversity loss and the need to protect the environment.
In addition to nesting platforms for storks, within the ornithological safety program, DTEK Donetsk Grids is installing wooden nesting houses for falcons in the Meotida National Nature Park. The company also installs bird protection devices on power transmission lines. These are special casings that cover the side sections of wires. By the end of 2021, the number of bird protection devices, including those installed on the territory of the Meotida National Park in the Azov Sea, will reach 1,590.
A short video of how the stork nest platform is being installed can be found here.
See our short video of how wooden houses for the falcon nesting are installed in the Meotida National Natural Park here.