A wind energy company was ordered to pay $8 million in fines after pleading guilty to killing at least 150 eagles at its wind farms.
NextEra Energy Resources' wholly owned subsidiary, ESI Energy, was sentenced to five years of supervised release after pleading guilty to three counts of violating the Migratory Bird Treaty Act.
At least 150 bald and golden eagles have died at its facilities since 2012 and 136 of them were determined to be attributable to the eagle being struck by a wind turbine blade, according to the Justice Department.
Fifty of the company's 154 wind farms in the United States have had at least one death.
The company failed to protect the eagles or obtain the permits that are necessary when eagle deaths are documented or predicted, according to the Justice Department. By not taking these steps, the company gained a competitive advantage.
The prosecution will protect the vital and majestic natural resources of the bald eagle and golden eagle populations, according to the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of California.
Rebecca Kujawa, the president of NextEra, said in a statement that she disagreed with the federal government's enforcement of the policy because the reality is building any structure, driving any vehicle, or flying any airplane carries with it.
Ms. Kujawa said that they have a longstanding reputation for protecting the environment and supporting wildlife around their facilities.
The company agreed to spend up to $27 million on measures tominimize eagle deaths and injuries. Steven Stengel, a spokesman for NextEra, said that there was no specific breakdown of how the money would be spent.
The bald eagle, the nation's symbol whose resurgence is considered one of the greatest conservers of the 21st century, faces a new threat: lead poisoning.
By the mid-20th century, most of the bald eagles were dead due to the widespread use of the synthetic pesticide DDT. The population rebounded after a ban on the pesticide DDT. The bald eagle's population grew to over 300,000 by the year 2019.
Nearly half of the 1,200 eagles tested this year had been exposed to lead, which can lead to death and slow population growth. Scientists believe that the main source of lead is used by hunters who shoot animals that the eagles then eat.
Julia Ponder, a professor and associate dean at the College of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Minnesota, said that protecting the eagles has become a challenge.
She said that she would love it if it were black and white.
She said that while wind turbine can harm eagles and other birds, they are also an alternative form of energy that is cleaner than fossil fuels and is contributing to a warming of the planet.
Professor Ponder said that a wind turbine's blades can spin at 200 miles per hour and kill birds.
Between 140,000 and 328,000 birds are killed each year in the United States at monopole.
Roberto Albertani, a professor of mechanical engineering at Oregon State University, said that he and his team had created a system to make wind turbines safer for eagles.
It called for using cameras to determine if the birds were approaching the blades, triggering on-the-ground inflatable tubes, or wind dancer, figures, like those often seen at car dealerships, to scare the birds away.
He said that the eagles wereannoyed by the figures.
Professor Ponder said that some researchers were looking into using audio signals to keep birds away from turbines. The detection systems that would shut off the turbine eagles when they approach could be costly for power companies.
She said that the questions were complex and that they needed to find the answers to them.
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