From the Yangtze River to the Amazon: Chinese Electric Power Constructs Transnational 'Human-Bird Coexistence' Protective Network

On April 1, as staff from Brazil's CPFL Energia completed installing protective baffles on Tower T199 in Rio Grande do Sul, the technical team from State Grid Jiangsu Electric Power Co., Ltd. concluded their first cross-border on-site guidance for transmission line protective baffle installation. This marks the first successful international application of China's power transmission line avian protection experience.

Jiangsu, located in the middle-lower Yangtze River Plain, has seen a surge in rare migratory birds settling and breeding locally due to ecological improvements. Since 2017, State Grid Jiangsu Electric Power innovatively developed epoxy resin protective baffles, which have substantially reduced the probability of transmission line malfunctions caused by bird activities such as those involving Oriental White Storks. This exemplary solution, showcased multiple times globally, attracted considerable overseas attention.

This cross-border experience exchange originated from the seven-year technical collaboration between China and Brazil's power sectors, with CPFL engineers visiting Yangzhou, Jiangsu in 2018 and 2024 to study power grid safety protection management. In December 2023, State Grid Jiangsu Electric Power Co., Ltd. customized 300 lightweight epoxy resin protective baffles for CPFL, which arrived in Brazil this March. Subsequently, a team of four Chinese experts was dispatched to Brazil on March 20th to guide the installation and commissioning process.

The Sino-Brazilian team selected 77 towers across two 230-kilovolt transmission lines as pilot projects, spanning 219.7 kilometers in central-southern Rio Grande do Sul, traversing multiple ecosystems including the Atlantic Forest and Pampas grasslands. Data shows these lines suffered five bird-related tripping accidents between June and October 2024 alone, threatening the safety and stability of local power supply. The protective baffles independently developed in Yangzhou, China, use epoxy resin for physical isolation, cutting bird-induced short-circuit risks and reducing by over 90% of the bird-related failure rate domestically.

Overcoming linguistic barriers and technical standard differences, the teams created a Chinese-Portuguese bilingual technical manual and adjusted baffle groove angles and bolt positions to fit Brazilian tower specifications. Yan Junkai, a State Grid Jiangsu expert, noted this "dynamic adaptation" model offers flexible solutions for global technology promotion.

Gustavo Bystronski Vier, CPFL's maintenance manager, stated, "We warmly welcome Chinese experts. China possesses rich experience in power equipment and technologies, particularly demonstrating remarkable achievements in applying bird-proof devices. We aim to enhance Brazil's grid reliability and environmental sustainability through this collaboration."

Moving forward, the team will compile international technical standards based on this experience and explore partnerships in fields such as drone inspections and line monitoring, advancing standardized development of grid safety and biodiversity conservation across Belt and Road Initiative countries. (By Zhou Yajing)