Water habitats are especially sensitive. The impacts the construction of a hydroelectric plant make on the environment are inevitable. But it also often creates new habitats for plants and animals, adding both ecological and economic value to a site. Around one third of all German bird reserves are located near hydroelectric reservoirs. We also take special care of fish at our hydroelectric plants: fish ladders and bypass channels protect the fish and enable them to swim past our facilities. The filter screens of our hydroelectric plants perform an important additional function: they remove litter and debris from river water. Each year we remove several thousand metric tons of flotsam.

In 2007, E.ON Thüringer Energie (ETE), an E.ON regional utility in central Germany, invested about EUR600,000 in nature conservancy projects along the Werra River, a tributary of the Weser River. We’re implementing measures at ETE’s Spichra, Mihla and Falken hydroelectric plants to ensure that fish can swim up and downriver without hindrance. Spichra and Mihla are currently being equipped with special fish-friendly gates. Mihla, our newest hydroelectric plant on the Werra, already has fish ladders, 17 fish ponds, a surface bypass system, and several openings to ensure unhindered passage. Thanks to these measures, ETE’s three facilities along the Werra already comply with the strict provisions of the EU Water Framework Directive which takes effect in 2015.