To be a leading sustainable energy company requires more than generating and delivering energy from sustainable, renewable sources. It also means actively working to protect and enhance our increasingly fragile natural environment. Across all of our operations and in the communities we serve, we take action to protect the environment and biodiversity.

For some time, we’ve had operations adjacent to marine environments. And as our operations grow, we look for new and innovative ways to ensure we’re able to generate and distribute power while protecting sensitive marine habitat. For example, where appropriate, we’ve built flood walls and have put in other flood mitigation efforts to help protect preserve sensitive marine habitat.

In addition, we have taken significant steps to ensure our facilities near and on water are designed and operated with environmental stewardship in mind. We’ve also developed partnerships with organizations focused on measuring and reducing negative impacts on marine environments in the communities we serve. The following are some examples of how to bring these partnerships and commitments to life.

Harvesting Offshore Wind Power with the Environment in Mind

Vineyard Wind 1, which will be over 15 miles off the Massachusetts coast, is the first commercial-scale offshore wind farm in the U.S. As we work on this first-of-its-kind project in the U.S., we are also taking significant steps to protect biodiversity and sea life. Here, for example, we are working with the University of New Hampshire (UNH) to deploy a Passive Acoustic Monitoring Device (PAM) to record ambient sound, including marine mammal vocalizations, in underwater areas surrounding the project site.

The PAM device will record underwater sound a minimum of 30 days before the start of offshore construction and will remain active through at least three years of the project’s operations and maintenance. We will use information we gather from this effort to inform and adjust our construction schedule so that we can avoid impacts to marine mammals and other marine life. In addition, we will employ protected species observers – specialists who will monitor for the presence of marine life during our survey and construction activities – onboard all our vessels.

“Sound is the dominant sensory mode for life underwater, and as the regional oceans become busier, sound from human activity has the possibility of masking biologically important sounds which could potentially alter the local ocean soundscape and impact marine life,” said Jennifer Miksis-Olds, research professor and director of UNH’s Center for Acoustics Research and Education. “This exciting collaboration will provide valuable data that could help make a positive difference in effective monitoring and mitigation of marine mammals and a model for future ocean users to be sound environmental stewards.”

Partnering to Protect New England’s Forests and Rivers

AVANGRID’s investor-owned utilities have operated in New England for over 100 years and conserving this region’s forests and rivers (and protecting the habitat for the fish and birds that make their homes here) is of vital importance to our company. The New England Forests and Rivers Fund (NFWF) focuses on restoring and sustaining healthy habitat for native birds and freshwater fish throughout New England. They do this by providing grants to local organizations that work to restore forest habitat, remove barriers to fish movement and more. The Avangrid Foundation helps the NFWF create public-private partnerships to conduct this critical work.

Funding Efforts to Protect Ecosystems and Reverse Climate Impacts on The Gulf of Maine

AVANGRID is a long-time supporter of the Gulf of Maine Research Institute’s (GMRI) work to protect the resilience of the Gulf of Maine and the communities that depend on it. To date, we’ve provided GMRI with over $1 million in financial support. This began in 2004 when we provided funding for GMRI’s flagship educational program, LabVenture. Through LabVenture, GMRI engages Maine’s 5^th and 6^th graders in education about the most pressing issues facing the gulf’s ecosystems (and the communities that depend on these ecosystems.) With our support, GMRI has been able to provide this program, including transportation for students to and from GMRI’s Portland-based lab for hands-on education, at no cost to schools or families.

In 2012, AVANGRID began a partnership with GMRI in support of PowerHouse, an education and outreach program focused on helping students across Maine analyze and understand the impacts of residential energy use on climate change. And in 2019, The Avangrid Foundation provided funding for GMRI’s work to help prepare Maine’s communities, families and industries for the impacts of climate change by sponsoring the Gulf of Maine 2050 International Symposium. We have since partnered with GMRI to strengthen the capacity of Maine’s coastal communities and industries to utilize science-based decision-making.

Our leadership has also been directly involved in GMRI’s work, providing critical guidance to the organization’s programs. Currently, Scott Mahoney, Senior Vice President – General Counsel & Secretary of AVANGRID, is a member of GMRI’s Board of Directors.

GMRI’s work is closely linked to several of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UNSDGs), including responsible consumption and production, meaningful action to address climate change, and meaningful action to protect life below water. With our support, GMRI has been able to make significant progress towards these goals, even as challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic threatened the organization’s work.

We’re proud of our efforts to protect and enhance marine habitat and biodiversity, and we’ll continue to do more. Protecting biodiversity is not only essential to AVANGRID’s success – it’s essential for a sustainable future.

For more information about our efforts to protect the earth, its habitats, and our communities read our 2021 Sustainability Report.