The project lasted 87 months
On December 10, EDG West officially announced the end of the LIFE project „Life for Birds“ (LIFE16 NAT/BG/000612), which it is implementing under the LIFE program in partnership with the Bulgarian Society for the Protection of Birds (BSPB). In the period 27-28.11.2024, the company successfully passed a final technical audit by independent auditors from the European Commission in connection with the implementation of the project activities. The conclusion of the European Commission auditors is that the activities planned in the project have been implemented in full, with very high quality and no discrepancies were found.
The LIFE16 NAT/BG/000612 project is the first project with European funding for EDG West. It lasted 87 months and is implemented in 19 specially protected areas of NATURA 2000 in Western Bulgaria. Its goal is to protect populations of endangered bird species by reducing the risk of collision with overhead power lines, providing safe nesting sites and improving the electricity distribution infrastructure in hard-to-reach areas of Western Bulgaria.
Within the framework of the project, a total of 5,400 electric poles were secured by placing insulating material on them. 3,600 reflective markers were installed on 120 km of overhead power lines. The markers attract the attention of birds and make the wires more visible to birds. Risky nests for the white stork were secured, with 940 nesting platforms installed so that the birds could safely build their nests on them. A working group on the project created a prototype for a bird-safe pole. 23 poles were installed as a pilot in Western Bulgaria. 3 online cameras were also installed in stork nests, which broadcast live on the BSPB YouTube channel.
The „Life for Birds“ project, worth a total of 2.647 million euros, has been awarded numerous awards from prestigious national and international competitions – first place in the „Green Project“ category in the „Greenest Companies“ competition for 2019, national winner in the international ranking of the Energy Globe Awards 2020, first place in the „Environmental Investor“ category of BBLF in 2021. A number of competitions, exhibitions, events and painting of electrical equipment were implemented within the framework of the project.
EDG West continues its work on a second project under the LIFE program – „Danube free sky“, LIFE19 NAT/SK/001023, which it implements jointly with 7 European countries and its partners from the BSPB.
