Skip to main content

First Wind Turbine Eagle Take Permit May Come To Solano County

Support Provided By
eagle-9-26-13-thumb-600x380-60661
Golden eagle in California | Photo: rexboggs5/Flickr/Creative Commons License

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is looking for public comment on a proposal to allow a Solano County wind turbine installation to kill an eagle each year on average over a period of five years, in what may turn out to be the first Programmatic Eagle Take Permit granted to a U.S. wind facility.

Operators of the 100-megawatt Shiloh IV facility between Fairfield and Rio Vista in the Sacramento Delta area have proposed their 50 turbines be allowed to kill or harm the eagles under the "legal take" provisions of the U.S. Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act. The project owner, EDF Renewables, has proposed an Eagle Conservation Plan for the site that would include some siting and habitat preservation measures. The company is also proposing it buy other eagle habitat for preservation, and retrofit utility poles elsewhere in California that have proven hazardous to eagles.

USFWS is proposing that Shiloh IV retrofit additional power poles, and monitor all the turbines in the project at least monthly. EDF's proposal would have the company check only half its turbines each month for dead eagles.

Under the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act, it's illegal to "pursue, shoot, shoot at, poison, wound, kill, capture, trap, collect, destroy, molest, or disturb" eagles, as well as their nests and eggs, without the appropriate permit from USFWS.

If the project's Programmatic Eagle Take Permit is approved, USFWS press spokesperson Scott Flaherty told ReWire, Shiloh IV would be the holder of the first such permit granted to a wind turbine operator. More than a dozen facilities have applied for such permits nationwide. Earlier this year ReWire reported that a facility on the Osage Reservation Oklahoma would likely be the first to receive an eagle take permit from USFWS, but tribal opposition to that project has set its schedule back significantly.

If granted, Shiloh IV's eagle take permit would run for five years. USFWS is currently proposing to extend the length of an eagle take permit for wind facilities to 30 years, a move that has angered many environmentalists.

You can read the Draft Environmental Assessment here. Pubic camments are being accepted beginning Friday: email them to ShilohIV_comments@fws.gov or snailmail to Heather Beeler, Migratory Bird Program, U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service, Pacific Southwest Regional Office, 2800 Cottage Way, W-
2605, Sacramento, CA 95825.

Support Provided By
Read More
A row of cows stands in individual cages along a line of light-colored enclosures, placed along a dirt path under a blue sky dotted with white puffy clouds.

A Battle Is Underway Over California’s Lucrative Dairy Biogas Market

California is considering changes to a program that has incentivized dairy biogas, to transform methane emissions into a source of natural gas. Neighbors are pushing for an end to the subsidies because of its impact on air quality and possible water pollution.
A Black woman with long, black brains wears a black Chicago Bulls windbreaker jacket with red and white stripes as she stands at the top of a short staircase in a housing complex and rests her left hand on the metal railing. She smiles slightly while looking directly at the camera.

Los Angeles County Is Testing AI's Ability To Prevent Homelessness

In order to prevent people from becoming homeless before it happens, Los Angeles County officials are using artificial intelligence (AI) technology to predict who in the county is most likely to lose their housing. They would then step in to help those people with their rent, utility bills, car payments and more so they don't become unhoused.
blue themed graphic including electric vehicles are charging stations, wind turbines and trees, 2023 in reference to year

A Look Back at Climate Solutions In 2023

The U.S. may have a long way to go in its decarbonization goals, but these stories show signs of progress in climate solutions.