Green Energy Company Faces $30,000 Fine for Eagle Collisions
The Trump Department of the Interior is fining a green energy company over $30,000 after their wind turbines knocked two American bald eagles out of the sky. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is proposing a fine of $32,340 against Ørsted Onshore North America for violating the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act by killing the eagles without an ‘incidental take permit.’
The first bald eagle was discovered dead in March 2024 near a turbine at Ørsted’s Plum Creek facility in Wayne County, Nebraska. The eagle’s remains were taken to the National Fish and Wildlife Forensics Laboratory for a necropsy, at which it was determined the fatality was caused by a collision with a wind turbine. A year later, another bald eagle was found dead on April 18, just 200 yards from a turbine in Lincoln Land, Illinois. The necropsy results similarly showed that the eagle’s death was consistent with a wind turbine collision.
Because the Ørsted facilities did not have permits to kill the eagles, the Fish and Wildlife Service is proposing civil penalties of $16,170 per violation, totaling $32,340. The bureau is giving Ørsted 45 days to respond to the notice before sealing the penalties. A spokesperson for the Plum Creek Wind and Lincoln Land Wind facilities told Fox News Digital that Ørsted received the letter from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on October 29 and the company ‘will continue to engage and cooperate with USFWS on this matter.’
Ørsted Onshore, a subsidiary of Danish clean energy conglomerate Ørsted A/S, operates 13 wind farms across the country. According to its website, Ørsted A/S is a global clean energy leader that develops, constructs, and operates offshore and land-based wind farms, solar farms, energy storage facilities, and bioenergy plants. Ørsted also operates offshore wind farms across the globe, including in the U.S.
Ørsted was one of the companies touted by the Biden White House as an example of its successful clean energy goals and economic plan. The company’s controversial offshore projects in New Jersey, Ocean Wind 1 and Ocean Wind 2, made headlines in 2023 and were ultimately canceled due to economic factors, delivering a blow to former President Joe Biden’s green energy goals.
‘We are building and shaping America’s clean energy industry, creating jobs, boosting economies, partnering with local communities, and conserving nature,’ a statement on Ørsted’s website says.
The violation notice states that while Ørsted does not have any prior wildlife violations, it says the company continued to not hold an eagle take permit despite realizing the danger its turbines presented to airborne wildlife after the first eagle was killed in 2024. It also notes that Ørsted showed good faith by voluntarily notifying the bureau of the kills and cooperating with instructions to preserve the carcasses.
Nonetheless, the notice reads that ‘the gravity of these violations is serious,’ noting that ‘while bald eagle numbers have increased markedly from pre-listing lows, the species still faces myriad threats from humans.’ ‘Bald eagles and golden eagles are trust species of the United States and of religious and cultural significance to Native Americans,’ the notice continues, adding, ‘The U.S. government takes its responsibility to protect eagles seriously.’
U.S. Secretary of Interior Doug Burgum has previously criticized solar and wind projects, saying they are ‘destabilizing our grid and driving up prices.’ ‘When you think about the green new scam, it was pro-China and it’s anti-American and it’s also unaffordable and unreliable,’ Burgum said on Jesse Watters Primetime in June.