Ecological considerations play an important role for example in the planning, construction and operation of new natural gas pipelines, overhead power lines and underground power lines.

E.ON Nordic operates wind farms, hydroelectric plants and other facilities that are in or near biologically diverse nature preserves, some of which are Natura 2000 sites. It also operates power lines that are near, and a few that are in, a total of 450 nature preserves. E.ON Vattenkraft has designed a Value Nature Plan for each power station. The plans contain instructions for how the power stations should be operated in cases where they impact biodiversity.

E.ON Ruhrgas is careful with the natural environment when it builds new natural gas pipelines. It avoids, whenever possible, ecologically sensitive biotopes and minimizes landscape impact with the help of environmentally friendly construction techniques. It also has a special department, Agriculture, Forestry and Conservation, to address environmental issues. The department collaborates with outside experts to conduct environmental impact assessments and design landscape conservation plans for infrastructure projects. These are used to develop measures to offset the impact on the natural environment and landscape.

The nine-kilometer high-pressure natural gas pipeline we built three years ago between Jockgrim and Hayna in state of Rhineland Palatinate in southwest Germany is an excellent example of how we plan and execute infrastructure projects in a way that respects nature. The underground pipeline was built in a wooded area. We used special steel pipes that don’t need to be buried in a layer of sand. This made it possible to dig a narrower trench, which prevents unnecessary damage to walking paths in the forest. To offset the project’s impact, we planted local species of trees in a nature preserve outside Jockgrim.

Nature conservation has been particularly taken into account in the construction of Nord Stream, the natural gas pipeline E.ON Ruhrgas and its project partners plan to build across the Baltic Sea. Some countries in the region have expressed opposition to the pipeline. Sweden and Finland are worried that the pipeline would have a negative impact on the marine ecosystem. Nord Stream takes these and other concerns seriously and has set up a website with comprehensive information in five languages. It conducts environmental impact assessments in order to analyze potential risks. In 2008, Nord Stream published an environmental impact report. The pathway for the pipeline was modified in the fall of 2007 so that it stays well clear of sunken unexploded munitions.

E.ON Netz, which operates E.ON’s electric transmission system in Germany, has found an environmentally friendly alternative to sending in crews with chainsaws and weed whackers to remove vegetation around power pylons. In some areas it now sends in four-legged crews: Scottish Highland cattle, white horned heath sheep and bison graze among the pylons and control vegetation.