National Grid's spooktacular efforts supporting bat conservation
Bats may be associated with Halloween and spooky tales, but the reality is they are vital for maintaining the health of our ecosystems. Demonstrating environmental stewardship, National Grid is safeguarding the critical habitats of these nocturnal mammals across several of its sites, including the cable tunnels at Dinorwig power station.
National Grid is currently replacing the underground cables between Dinorwig power station and the substation at Pentir. Originally installed in the 1970s, the cables comprise three circuits that connect into Dinorwig via a tunnel portal.
Through the 40-year life of the power station, the tunnels have become an important maternity and hibernation roost for the rare lesser horseshoe bats and a day roost for Soprano and Pipistrelle bats. Several other species also use the tunnels. At its peak, 191 lesser horseshoe bats were recorded making the site regionally important and of high conservation significance.
Charlie Roberts at National Grid said: “Bats are a protected species in the UK and get a bit of a bad reputation, when they are in fact quite gentle mammals that commonly eat insects and support pollination in some parts of the world. It’s amazing to think that the cable tunnels provide a safe haven for so many bats and we are committed to keeping it that way.
“At Dinorwig, we have put in place several mitigation measures over the years and, more recently, installed a permanent acoustic barrier alongside the maternity roost to reduce any noise and disruption during construction works.”
National Grid is helping to restore bat roosting sites, habitats and flights paths across several of our operational sites and planned construction facilities – including at the Hinkley Connection Project, where ecologists discovered the presence of bats during assessments works at a local farm.
Bat activity was detected in a dilapidated building and as part of improvement works in the area a new building was designed and built to house up to four species of bats including the Pipstrelle, Brown Long Eared, Lesser Horseshoe and Greater Horseshoe Species, before the removal of the old building. Two years later (2023) bat droppings have been identified and the building is now being used as a roost.
Conservation is not just at operational sites; National Grid owns around 1,800 hectares of non-operational land, which is made up of a variety of rich natural habitats. It has committed to improve the environmental value of this land in the UK by at least 10 per cent by 2026 and has already achieved a 7.9 per cent improvement on non-operational land since FY2021. Last year, all National Grid construction projects committed to deliver a minimum 10% net gain or more in environmental value, with some committed to 15% and higher.
Take a look at our Annual Environment Report for more information about National Grid Electricity Transmission’s environmental plan and performance.
