To protect the cranes, ospreys and curlews nesting in the Pukši marsh, AS Augstsprieguma tīkls (AST) has installed bird diverters on the rebuilt 330 kV power line from Valmiera to Tsirgulina (Estonia). According to ornithologists' research, the special signs have been installed for a total of 5.1 kilometres along the marsh in Valmiera Municipality.

“Protecting the environment and mitigating the impact of our activities is important to AST, which we also assess before building infrastructure projects. In cooperation with the State Environmental Service, ornithologists conducted a six-month study of the wild bird population and habitats in the Pukši marsh in the vicinity of the new power line and concluded that the protection of certain bird species requires the installation of special bird diverters in a certain section, while other bird species nesting in the marsh will not be affected by the power line, as there is no intersection between the line and the bird paths,” says Rolands Irklis, Chairman of the Board of AST, commenting on the bird protection measures.

A total of 580 bird diverters have been installed with the help of a specially adapted drone for better visibility of the power lines. The Valmiera-Tsirgulina line is scheduled for completion this spring, while the other rebuilt line from Valmiera to Tartu was completed last summer and is also marked with bird diverter signs on this section.

The project envisages the reconstruction of two lines built in the 1960s and 1970s. Within the framework of reconstruction, it is not planned to change the power line route and voltage level - it will be built as an overhead 330kV line on the existing 330kV overhead line route, installing new poles and wires. 

More information about the project can be found on the AST website https://www.ast.lv/en/transmission-network-projects/reconstruction-existing-latvija-estonia-330kv-interconnections.