The FWS had conducted a thorough analysis of potential impact to eagles from the wind energy project and had issued its record of Decision (ROD) and indicated that it would issue an Eagle Take Permit for Power Company of Wyoming’s (PCW) Chokecherry and CCSM when final mitigation plans are given.

As per the analysis, FWS concluded that during the construction period, which could take up to five years, not more than two bald eagles and fourteen golden eagles per year would be harmed or killed.

The wind farm will consist of 500 turbines and it is the phase I of a proposed two phase project which would include 1000 wind turbines on 220,000 acres of land in South Wyoming. This project is considered to be one of the largest onshore wind farms in North America, which would produce about 3GW of clean energy, powering about one million homes.

FWS' Mountain-Prairie Regional Director, Noreen Walsh said: “Over 70 years ago, our nation made a clear statement about the importance of protecting eagles with the passage of the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act.

“As the federal agency charged with implementing that law, the decision the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is announcing today demonstrates that by working closely with industry, we can develop our nation’s wind resources in a way that conserves our extraordinary wildlife resources.”

BLM issued a final environmental assessment (EA) analysing the impacts of constructing 500 wind turbines on mixed ownership land for public comments in March, last year.

The EA builds on a 2012 analysis which evaluated the potential impacts of the project as a whole. After taking into account public comments, the BLM prepared a Finding of No New Significant Impact (FONNSI) and Decision Record (DR) for the approval.

BLM administers nearly half of the land associated with the project, while the remaining land is privately owned and state lands. Only a portion of the total land area would be used for or disturbed by the project.

The entire project is expected to create about 1200 jobs during peak construction and more than 100 permanent jobs in operations and maintenance. Phase I of the project is estimated to generate about $200m in property tax revenue during the construction and in the first 20 years of operation.

PCW estimates Phase I will also contribute $116 million from sales taxes and $118 million from a state wind-electricity tax over 20 years.