Ben Voorhorst (Executive Board member): ‘We operate the electricity grid in the Netherlands and large parts of Germany, ensuring 41 million consumers and businesses receive green electricity. Meanwhile, global biodiversity is also under pressure, according to a report by Ipbes (United Nations) this week. With our high voltage connections and stations, in addition to transporting green electricity, we can also contribute to the conservation of nature in another way.’
Conservation of insects and inspect species and flora
TenneT’s assets are located throughout the Netherlands and Germany, offering unique connection points for local biodiversity. This spurred on TenneT to launch a biodiversity pilot project at three high voltage substations in the Netherlands. The measures taken to increase biodiversity are sowing indigenous mixtures to strengthen local biodiversity and meandering mowing. The pilot project showed that meandering mowing leads to the retention of between 58 and 72 percent of insect fauna. These insects would not survive ‘normal’ mowing.
The pilot project was carried out in collaboration with the Vlinderstichting (Dutch Butterfly Conservation). Albert Vliegenthart of Vlinderstichting: ‘TenneT demonstrates that relatively small measures at hundreds of stations can achieve a significant effect. Such conservation of the insect population is impressive, and at the same time crucial given the current challenges facing us on preserving biodiversity.’
TenneT’s contribution to promoting biodiversity is part of its CSR ambition for 2025. It also contributes to TenneT’s objective of playing a leading role in the energy transition as a green grid operator.
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