- The court suspended Bernagues’ wind farm for one year after a golden eagle collided with a turbine in January 2023.
- Énergie Renouvelable du Languedoc was fined €200,000, and its director was fined €40,000 for failing to prevent the bird’s death.
- A separate court ruling ordered the wind farm’s demolition due to a missing construction permit; an appeal decision is expected in April 2025.
A French court has ordered a one-year shutdown of the Bernagues wind farm in Hérault after linking it to the death of a golden eagle in January 2023.
The Montpellier criminal court blamed Énergie Renouvelable du Languedoc (ERL), a subsidiary of the Valeco group, for failing to prevent the accident. The court found that the site’s bird detection system malfunctioned, leading to the fatal collision.
The wind farm operates seven turbines on the Escandorgue massif, near the edge of the Massif Central in southern France.
A GPS tracker monitored the golden eagle, which belonged to a breeding pair nesting near the site since 2008. The French Office for Biodiversity (OFB) confirmed that the eagle flew at 50 km/h when it struck a turbine blade. Officials discovered the remains six days later at the base of the turbine.
The court imposed a €200,000 fine on ERL, suspending half of it. It also fined ERL’s director, François Daumard, €40,000, with €20,000 suspended. In addition, the court ordered ERL to pay €35,000 in damages to six environmental groups. Each group will also receive €3,000 for ecological harm and €1,000 in legal fees.
Judges ordered ERL to shut down the site immediately to prevent further incidents. The public prosecutor had demanded harsher penalties—€750,000 for ERL, including €500,000 suspended, and €150,000 for Daumard.
ERL’s lawyer, Philippe Bouchez-El Ghozi, confirmed that the company would file an appeal.
The Bernagues case follows a similar ruling just three days earlier. The same court held EDF Renouvelables and nine subsidiaries responsible for the deaths of 160 protected birds at the Aumelas wind farm in Hérault. The court ordered a four-month suspension of operations and imposed fines totalling €5 million. It also handed Bruno Bensasson, former CEO of EDF Renouvelables, a six-month suspended prison sentence and a €100,000 fine.
In a separate legal case, the Nîmes Court of Appeal ruled in December 2023 that ERL had constructed the Bernagues turbines without a valid permit and ordered ERL to dismantle the structures. ERL has appealed to the Court of Cassation, with a final decision expected by April 2025.
Environmental groups welcomed Bernague’s verdict. They believe it sets a precedent for protecting biodiversity from poorly managed energy projects.
ERL maintains that it complied with environmental laws and insists that it acted responsibly. The company hopes the appeals will overturn both the criminal and administrative rulings.
The two legal setbacks spotlight growing concerns over the impact of renewable energy projects on wildlife. The French courts have sent a clear signal that they will hold operators accountable for environmental harm, even in the pursuit of clean energy.