In a small town in Rizhao City, east China's Shandong Province, flocks of egrets spread their wings and glide calmly between the transmission towers, presenting a vivid scene of coexistence between the wildlife and the power project.
As a critical "power expressway" for eastern Shandong, the Yanwei 1,000 kV UHV AC power transmission project, which entered operation on October 10, was built to facilitate the distribution of clean electricity and ensure provincial power supply.
During the route survey for the project's Rizhao section, construction workers discovered an egret habitat beside a local river, where yellow-billed storks -- national first-class protected wild animals, also live.
Upon discovery of the egret habitat, Rizhao Power Supply Company under State Grid Shandong Electric Power Co., Ltd. immediately consulted local forestry authorities and invited wildlife protection experts to conduct on-site special ecological assessments.
Under the principle of "minimal disturbance and effective warning", the company decided, after five rounds of comparing protection plans, to raise the height of towers nearby by 20-30 meters.
Meanwhile, all tower foundations were placed more than 100 meters away from the local migratory bird habitat, and no trees were cut down, leaving the egrets an undisturbed home for safe breeding.
"Egrets follow a fixed rhythm of migration and breeding. We stick to the rule of not disrupting their routine and arrange construction around their schedule," said Zhang Liang, manager of the project, as he showed the construction timetable.
To better protect egrets, the timetable required quiet construction and as little disturbance from workers and machinery as possible from May to July last year, a period usually marking the breeding and hatching time for egrets.
Tower erection was therefore scheduled from October to December 2025, while the egrets migrated south. Before this March, when the migratory birds returned, all the wire stringing work was finished.
In addition, aviation warning balls have been installed on power lines crossing the habitat to act as "traffic lights in the sky".
Together with regular patrols and special egret protection teams, the company helps the habitat thrive as its egret population has increased from about 500 to over 600.
All of these speak well for a harmonious co-existence between infrastructure development and biodiversity conservation in Rizhao. (Edited by Duan Jing with Xinhua Silk Road, duanjing@xinhua.org)
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