Wind energy company ESI pleads guilty to killing 150 golden, bald eagles

ESI Energy, a wind “renewable” energy company has pleaded guilty to killing at least 150 eagles and has agreed to pay up to $27m to prevent more deaths.

The company entered a plea agreement with the DOJ after it was found to have violated the Migratory Bird Treaty Act.

Over 150 eagles were killed at ESI Energy’s wind farms in 8 states over the past 10 years. It is illegal to hurt or kill golden and bald eagles under federal law.

Most of the eagles killed were either golden or bald and ESI Energy recognized that 50 out of its 154 wind farms were involved in their killings.

Most of the deaths were caused by the eagle being struck by the blades of the turbines.

The company has agreed to pay close to $30,000 every time an eagle is killed or injured in the future. It will also over $8m in fines. The $27 million will be used to minimize the eagles’ deaths.

As President Biden and the Democrats push for “green,” “renewable” energy to prevent climate change. The changes are bringing in problems of their own with birds being one of the biggest victims.

Wind turbines end up slicing scores of birds and solar panel farms end up burning them midflight.

The President and CEO of NextEra, ESI Energy’s parent company, has said that accidents involving birds and wind turbines are inevitable. She’s also reportedly said that the ‘accidents’ shouldn’t be criminalized.

‘Unfortunately, the federal government, at odds with many states and a number of federal court decisions, has sought to criminalize unavoidable accidents related to collisions of birds into wind turbines while at the same time failing to address other activities that result in far greater numbers of accidental eagle and other bird mortalities.’

The statement by NextEra President and CEO Rebecca Kujawa read.