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Ledger 1 : 33 — For each dollar financing nature-based solutions in 2023, about $33 financed activities harmful to nature. (UNEP)
Cases / Wind, hydro and other renewables · United States · 2012–2022

NextEra unit ESI Energy admits at least 150 eagle deaths at US wind farms

Short record: the main facts, with sources. A full case file has not been prepared.

Nature's voice · report
No measurement of the harm done to me here is on record.
Did nature suffer? Not measured.
What the record lacks: 3 none on record · 1 not measured See the gaps

ESI Energy, a NextEra subsidiary, admitted that at least 150 eagles had died at its wind farms since 2012, and in 2022 it was fined $1.86 million and ordered to pay $6.21 million in compensation. The US Justice Department said the company had deliberately not sought eagle permits to save money.

What?
ESI Energy, a NextEra subsidiary, admitted that at least 150 eagles were killed at its wind farms and was penalised in 2022. POWER
Where?
Eight US states; 154 ESI facilities, of which 50 wind farms had eagle deaths Fox 32 (AP)
When?
Deaths from 2012 to 2022; penalty in April 2022 POWER
Who?
Gained
  • ESI Energy and NextEra — avoided eagle permit costs, the Justice Department wrote POWER
Lost
None on record
Harmed
  • Eagles at ESI wind farms — at least 150 killed from 2012 to 2022, according to the company's admission Fox 32 (AP)
Why?
Not stated in the sources reviewed.
How?
Turbine collisions at wind farms, with no eagle permits obtained POWER
6 of 6 questions answered from the record

What happened

The record, in order.

ESI Energy, a subsidiary of NextEra, pleaded guilty in April 2022 to killing eagles at its wind farms, according to Fox 32 (AP).

The company admitted that at least 150 eagles had been killed at 50 of its 154 facilities since 2012. It was fined $1.86 million and sentenced to pay $6.21 million in compensation, according to POWER (April 2022).

The Justice Department wrote that the company had made a deliberate policy of not obtaining eagle permits to save money, and NextEra described the deaths as accidents.

    In court and with insurers

    Every proceeding and every insurer decision on record.

    Lawsuits and rulings

    No court case on record. No court has ruled on this case.

    Insurers

    No insurer decision on record.

    What we don't know

    Undisclosed, unproven, untried: recorded as data.

    Nature

    • Not measured Harm to nature: The record holds no measurement of harm to nature.

    Record

    • None on record The sources reviewed do not record any personal prosecution of executives.
    • None on record The sources reviewed do not confirm the current status of the 30-year eagle take permit for wind farms.
    • None on record The sources reviewed do not say how many eagles have died at the facilities since 2022.

    Did the harm stop?

    Not stated in the sources reviewed.

    Who paid?

    Not stated in the sources reviewed.

    Sources

    Voices on record: — Company or project— Government and regulators— Courts✓ Press and investigations— Communities and civil society— Researchers

    Press and investigations

    Connected cases

    Related matters, and cases linked to this one through the same organisations, with the role each played in both.
    Terms used on this page

    Law and courts

    Plea
    In a criminal case, the defendant's formal answer to a charge. A plea agreement settles a case with a guilty plea on agreed terms.
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