Avangrid’s Innovative Condor Conservation Plan Contributes to Rearing of 12 California Condors

Avangrid, Inc. (NYSE: AGR), a leading sustainable energy company and member of the Iberdrola Group, today announced that it has successfully met and exceeded conditions under a precedent-setting California condor conservation plan developed for the company’s Manzana Wind Power Project in Kern County, California. The company will have doubled its commitment to condor recovery by supporting the rearing of 12 California condors at the Oregon Zoo.

“I am heartened to see this news coming from Oregon and California, which demonstrates Avangrid’s commitment to responsibly accelerating a clean energy transition,” said Pedro Azagra, Avangrid CEO. “This complements the already strong protections we have in place for birds and other wildlife at all of our wind facilities, and I am proud of the hard work that went into this truly innovative initiative. Our success with this program is an example of Avangrid’s environmental stewardship as a renewable energy leader.”

"The Service is proud to be a part of this collaborative effort, which is not only a success for our agency, Avangrid, and the Oregon Zoo, but also for our iconic California condors,” said Paul Souza, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Pacific Southwest Regional Director. "We worked closely with Avangrid to identify an innovative and scientifically sound path forward to balance recovery of condors with development and delivery of renewable energy. We thank our partners for their commitment to this strategy."

Avangrid developed this first-of-its-kind conservation plan in close collaboration with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and the Oregon Zoo in 2021. This plan stipulated that Avangrid fund a full-time employee at the zoo’s condor breeding facility to support the captive rearing of six California condors to mitigate the potential impacts of two incidental condor mortalities over a 30-year period. The USFWS issued Avangrid an incidental take permit for the Manzana Wind Power Project following completion and approval of the conservation plan.

To date, there have been no California condor mortalities detected at any wind facility. Funding from the company supported the successful rearing of 12 condors, 10 of which were releasable in 2022 and 2023. It is anticipated the remaining two will be releasable in the Fall of 2024.

"Conservation is all about partnerships, especially when it comes to a species like the California condor," said Travis Koons, who oversees the Oregon Zoo's recovery efforts. "We are so thankful to everyone for helping bring this iconic, critically endangered bird back from the very brink of extinction."