NextEra subsidiary admits 150 eagle deaths at US wind farms

August 31, 2026 at 05:33 AM2 min

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ESI Energy, a NextEra Energy Resources subsidiary, pleaded guilty in Cheyenne, Wyoming to three Migratory Bird Treaty Act violations tied to golden eagle deaths. The plea covers at least 150 bald and golden eagles killed since 2012 across 50 of its 154 US wind facilities. The company faces $8.07 million in fines and restitution plus five years of probation.

Key Facts

ESI Energy pleaded guilty to three counts of violating the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, each tied to golden eagle deaths at facilities in Wyoming and New Mexico.
The plea admits at least 150 bald and golden eagles died since 2012 across 50 of the company's 154 wind facilities in eight states.
The court sentenced ESI to a $1,861,600 fine, $6,210,991 in restitution, five years of probation, and an Eagle Management Plan requiring up to $27 million in prevention spending.
The plea agreement sets a mitigation payment of $29,623 per bald or golden eagle killed or injured during the five-year probation period.
Prosecutors said ESI never applied for federal permits that authorize unavoidable eagle deaths, despite warnings from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service about dangerous sites.

The Plea Agreement

ESI Energy, a wholly owned subsidiary of NextEra Energy Resources, entered the guilty plea in federal court in Cheyenne, Wyoming. The three counts each involved documented golden eagle deaths from blunt force trauma by turbine blades at facilities in Wyoming and New Mexico. The company admitted that 136 of the 150 eagle deaths were affirmatively determined to be blade strikes. Some individual turbines killed multiple eagles, according to the plea.

Penalties and Mitigation

The court imposed a fine of $1,861,600 and restitution of $6,210,991. ESI will serve five years of probation under a court-supervised Eagle Management Plan. The plan obliges the company to spend up to $27 million on prevention measures, including curtailing turbines when eagles are likely present. For every eagle the measures fail to save, ESI must pay $29,623 per carcass.

Prosecution's Theory

The Justice Department said the crime was not the killing itself, since federal law anticipates eagle deaths at wind farms through a permit system. Prosecutors said ESI's distinguishing conduct was refusing to obtain or even seek permits for over a decade. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service had explicitly warned the company that some sites were dangerous for eagles. The government argued the violation gave ESI a competitive advantage over companies that applied for permits and carried associated costs and delays.