Liaocheng, Shandong: Grid yields to migratory birds along the Yellow River

In autumn, egrets skim Dongchang Lake, and birdsong fills Dong'e's Yellow River ecological corridor. Rivers, lakes, and wetlands in Liaocheng, Shandong province, make this a key stopover on the East Asian-Australasian Flyway. By the first quarter of 2026, 274 bird species had been recorded, including 13 under national first-class protection and 49 under second-class protection.

Behind this is a repeated choice by grid planners to yield to birds.

Liaocheng lies entirely in the Yellow River basin. State Grid Liaocheng Power Supply Company has integrated ecological priorities into grid planning, construction and operation, promoting an eco-friendly Yellow River grid, new-energy consumption, cross-regional green power sharing and industrial green-power substitution.

With dense wetlands and forests, bird-line conflicts are hard to avoid. The company tackles this issue at the source: lines avoid Yellow River wetlands, bird habitats and flood-conveyance areas. In Yanggu, Dong'e and Guanxian, river-crossing routes have been optimized — narrow rather than wide, underground rather than overhead, where possible — using narrow-base towers and cables to limit damage to vegetation.

Ecological bird-deterrent devices have been installed along 220 kV and 110 kV lines. According to State Grid Liaocheng, planning now starts by identifying wetlands and nesting sites, not the shortest, cheapest path.

Yielding is not enough. The company and local forestry authorities run joint patrols in the ecological corridor and Weishan sand-settling pond area, checking plant growth, nesting poles and ecological changes. Migratory arrival times and resident-bird breeding seasons are built into maintenance and future planning.

The company has completed Yellow River-adjacent substation projects — 220 kV Pancheng, 110 kV Acheng and 35 kV Jindi — supporting fishery-solar and agriculture-solar projects, plain wind power, grid-side storage, electrified irrigation, flood control and clean beach-area energy, while avoiding sensitive habitats.

It also introduced a three-part environmental and water-conservation model: standardized monitoring, full-lifecycle equipment management and closed-loop data linkage. A distributed PV regulation platform covers all Yellow River townships, backed by monthly satellite remote sensing, daily drone inspections and real-time sensors.

Together with local environment and water departments, the company monitors water-intensive agriculture and soil erosion. Monitoring accuracy has reached 92 percent, and soil erosion in construction areas has fallen by more than 60 percent.