NextEra Energy fined $8M in eagle deaths at wind farms (NYSE:NEE)

NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE) subsidiary ESI Energy was sentenced Wednesday to probation and ordered to pay more than $8M in fines and restitution after at least 150 eagles were killed over the past decade at its wind farms in eight states.

ESI pleaded guilty to three counts of violating the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, a federal law that makes it illegal to kill or harm eagles.

The company agreed to spend up to $27M during its five-year probationary period on measures to prevent future eagle deaths, including shutting down turbines at times when eagles are more likely to be present.

“Unfortunately, the federal government, at odds with many states and a number of federal court decisions, has sought to criminalize unavoidable accidents related to collisions of birds into wind turbines,” NextEra said.

NextEra is a well managed utility but the dividend is too small, Hale Stewart writes in a bearish analysis published on Seeking Alpha.