Golden eagle killed by wind turbine: decision postponed until April 9

"The deliberation is adjourned until April 9 at 14:00 p.m.," the president of the criminal court's division said on Wednesday, without providing further details.

On January 10, 2023, at around 08:15 a.m., a golden eagle equipped with a GPS, flying at 50 km/h, struck a blade of one of the seven wind turbines operated on the Escandorgue massif, in the foothills of the Massif Central, by the company Energie Renouvelable du Languedoc (ERL), a subsidiary of the Valeco group, according to the investigation report on this incident by the French Office for Biodiversity (OFB).

The OFB had highlighted a "malfunction in the bird detection system" when the eagle approached, which, after being struck, "fell heavily" at the foot of the wind turbine, where it was found six days later.

The bird, which belongs to a protected species, was the breeding male of a pair that had built its nest in 2008, 3 km from where ERL built its wind turbines in 2016, according to France Nature Environnement (FNE), one of the six civil party associations in this case.

At the hearing on January 22, the prosecution requested a fine of 750 euros, of which 500.000 was suspended, against ERL, accompanied by a suspension of activity with provisional execution, as well as a fine of 150.000 euros (of which 100.000 was suspended) against the company's manager.

In another proceeding, the Nîmes Court of Appeal ordered on 7 December 2023 the demolition of the Bernagues wind farm and the restoration of the site due to the lack of a valid building permit.

ERL has filed an appeal with the Court of Cassation, whose decision is still awaited.

Elsewhere, the same Montpellier court is scheduled to deliver its decision on April 7 in a similar case, this time between EDF Renewables and France Nature Environnement. The utility is accused of being responsible for the deaths of hundreds of protected birds, including rare lesser kestrels, at its Aumelas wind farm, also in Hérault.