Helping regions to bring about environmental and socially responsible changes: protecting biodiversity and resources

The transmission system comprises 105 000 km of power lines, 15 000 km of which are located in environmentally protected areas. Protecting and caring for biodiversity are strong RTE commitments that underpin goals and policies being implemented by the regions. RTE is actively involved in the “Businesses for Nature act4nature France” initiative being run by France’s Biodiversity Protection Agency and spanning the period of 2020–2024.

Open spaces located underneath RTE structures and away from human activity are shelter areas for wildlife. Working in liaison with regional players, RTE develops innovative landscaping and land-management systems that make our infrastructures biodiversity-friendly spaces.

Belive project in the Ardennes

The BELIVE project (French acronym for “biodiversity under power lines”) supports the innovative management of vegetation in forested areas occupied by power lines.

Thanks to the involvement of RTE and local players, the Grand-Est region and the Ardennes nature park were named as a “pilot site for the restoration of biodiversity" by ADEME (Environment and Energy Management Agency) in 2017.

On the land belonging to the Ardennes nature park, power lines occupy a forested surface area of more than 600 hectares. The Belive project is an opportunity for restoring biodiversity and improving the quality of our region’s landscapes underneath high and ultra-high-voltage power lines.

The resulting electrical corridors will become real environmental corridors where different species will be able to move around, live and reproduce.
The completion of this project involves a wide range of regional players (towns, national forestry authority, local associations, hunting societies, etc.) in numerous joint initiatives.

Multipurpose infrastructures

RTE supports the shared use of its infrastructure, thereby encouraging innovation and creativity in support of communities and users.

Shared use of infrastructures at sea

In 2019, RTE and the Dunkerque Municipality issued a call for proposals on the potential shared use of the future offshore electrical platform off the coast of Dunkerque, seeking to use this infrastructure not only for electrical purposes but also for encouraging innovation and creativity in support of communities and sea users.

Within the space of 3 months, 65 “business” and 167 “student/academic” applications were submitted: a European first for this type of call for proposals; five projects were rewarded in June 2019 on the occasion of the international Seanergy trade fair.

Electricity pylons supporting the reintegration of birdlife

In response to a request from ornithologists seeking assistance with the conduct of scientific research, RTE installed cameras on its pylons in order to film the nests of birds (ospreys and storks) who had chosen to settle there. The live images that can be viewed on the Objectif Balbuz@rd or Objectif Cigogne websites are then used by NGOs to raise public awareness on the protection of birdlife. These cameras were installed in conjunction with local players (national restoration plans, NGOs, museums, etc.) as part of a collaborative effort to protect these species.