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Wind Power News: Colorado
These news and opinion items are gathered by National Wind Watch in its noncommercial educational mission to provide information about industrial wind energy development to readers seeking such information. They do not necessarily reflect the opinions of National Wind Watch. They are the products of and owned by the credited organizations or individuals and are shared here according to “fair use” and “fair dealing” provisions of copyright law. The original articles, links to which are provided, may have additional links and photos and other media that were not included here.
Wind energy company pleads guilty to killing eagles
The wind energy company ESI Energy Inc. (ESI) must pay more than $8 million in fines and restitution and serve a five-year probation after pleading guilty to violating the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, according to a statement released by the United States Department of Justice. In the U.S., ESI is a subsidiary of NextEra Energy Inc., one of the largest providers of renewable energy, per Reuters’ Barbara Goldberg. The company deliberately elected not to apply for proper permits for “any . . . Complete story »
Ruling on eagle deaths divides wind power industry
The sentencing of a wind energy company this week in the deaths of at least 150 eagles has brought renewed focus to the complicated relationship between wind turbines and birds. A subsidiary of NextEra Energy, the world’s biggest generator of wind and solar power, pleaded guilty to three deaths of bald and golden eagles in Wyoming and New Mexico. It also acknowledged that more than 100 other eagles had been killed across 50 of its 54 wind farms, primarily during . . . Complete story »
Wind operator to pay $8M in pact over killing eagles
A leading wind farm operator has agreed to pay fines and other fees totaling just over $8 million, plus potentially spending millions of additional dollars, because its operations were linked to the deaths of at least 150 eagles over about a decade. Partly at issue was whether the energy producer should have applied for permits before its operations killed the birds, or if the business should have taken other actions. The legal case points up the fact that responsible wind . . . Complete story »
Energy company to pay up to $35 million after turbines killed eagles
An American wind energy company has admitted to killing at least 150 bald and golden eagles, most of which were fatally struck by wind turbine blades, federal prosecutors said. ESI Energy pleaded guilty Tuesday to three counts of violating the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA) after eagles died at three of its facilities in Wyoming and New Mexico, according to a statement from the Justice Department. The MBTA prohibits killing, capturing or transporting protected migratory bird species without a permit. . . . Complete story »
US firm fined $8m after 150 eagles die at its wind farms
A US-based wind energy firm called ESI Energy, has been slapped with an $8m fine after at least 150 eagles died at its wind farms across eight states over the last 10 years. The company has also been given five years of probation. ESI Energy, a subsidiary of NextEra Energy, has pleaded guilty to three counts of violating the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. The company acknowledged the deaths of golden and bald eagles since 2012 at its farms in Wyoming, . . . Complete story »
Renewables company pleads guilty, must pay $8 million for wind-turbine deaths of 150 eagles
A renewable-energy company subsidiary pleaded guilty on federal criminal charges Tuesday and ordered to pay $8 million in fines and restitution for killing more than 150 eagles at wind farms in eight states. In addition ESI Energy, a subsidiary of renewables giant NextEra Energy, received five years of probation on three counts of violating the Migratory Bird Treaty Act stemming from the deaths of nine eagles in wind farms in Wyoming and New Mexico. Golden and bald eagles at 50 . . . Complete story »
Wind energy company kills 150 eagles in US, pleads guilty
A subsidiary of one of the largest U.S. providers of renewable energy pleaded guilty to criminal charges and was ordered to pay over $8 million in fines and restitution after at least 150 eagles were killed at its wind farms in eight states, federal prosecutors said Wednesday. NextEra Energy subsidiary ESI Energy was also sentenced to five years probation after being charged with three counts of violating the Migratory Bird Treaty Act during a court appearance in Cheyenne, Wyoming. The . . . Complete story »
Some changes suggested to draft wind turbine regulations
Logan County’s Planning Commission will be taking another look at its draft wind energy regulations. Several changes were suggested during a loosely-structured and occasionally heated public hearing Tuesday evening. Commission Chairman Dave Whitney opened the meeting by reading a statement, which he has submitted to the South Platte Sentinel and the Sterling Journal-Advocate as letters to the editor. In the statement, Whitney called for an indefinite moratorium on wind and solar projects in Logan County. He claimed that policies of . . . Complete story »
Commissioners extend moratorium for wind, power, transmission lines
Washington County Commissioners met Tuesday, January 25. Commissioner Tony Wells was absent from the meeting. Pastor Linda Hover of the Howard United Methodist Church opened the meeting with a prayer followed by the “Pledge of Allegiance.” Teresa Traxler from the Department of Human Services gave the monthly report from the department. The minutes from the December 28 meeting, the payroll and vouchers were approved. Numbers were up slightly. The department is working on a few grant applications. They also received . . . Complete story »
As Xcel maps its “power pathway,” how close is too close to the Sand Creek Massacre National Historic Site?
A major Xcel Energy power project could put up new transmission lines within view of the Sand Creek Massacre National Historic Site, sparking concerns among tribal leaders and park advocates that it could mar the site’s cultural and aesthetic character. Dubbed Colorado’s Power Pathway, the project would string lines and construct new substations across the Eastern Plains in a nearly $2 billion, 650-mile effort to bolster the state’s electric grid. Although a final route hasn’t been determined, park advocates contend . . . Complete story »
