Close up stills of a bald eagle killed by a turbine discovered dead in March 2024 at Ørsted’s Plum Creek facility in Wayne County, Nebraska. (Fox News Digital)
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 issued by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on October 29 and the company "will continue to engage and cooperate with USFWS on this matter."
A subsidiary of Danish clean energy conglomerate Ørsted A/S, Ørsted Onshore 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.
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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. (Fox News Digital)
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."
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"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.
Peter Pinedo is a politics writer for Fox News Digital.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/green-energy-company-hot-seat-after-bald-eagles-knocked-out-of-skies