California condor wind turbine deaths have stayed at zero since a 2021 permit allowed up to 2

California condor wind turbine deaths have stayed at zero since a 2021 permit

California condor wind turbine deaths have stayed at zero since 2021, when the United States Fish and Wildlife Service issued the first federal permit letting a wind farm legally kill the endangered bird. The permit covers the Manzana Wind Power Project, 126 turbines in the Tehachapi foothills of Kern County, California, run by Manzana Wind LLC since 2012. An incidental take permit, a permit that allows a fixed number of accidental deaths of a protected species without the company breaking federal wildlife law, lets Manzana take up to 2 free flying condors and 2 eggs or chicks over the 30 year life of the permit. The Fish and Wildlife Service opened the application, Federal Register document 2020 28253, for public comment in December 2020, and issued the permit in 2021.

How the geofence stops turbines from killing condors

Manzana avoids using that allowance with a geofence, a virtual monitoring boundary built from GPS data, installed in 2018. The system tracks condors fitted with GPS transmitters and curtails, meaning temporarily stops, any turbine within 20 miles of the wind farm when a tagged bird gets close. As of 2019, 81% of the southern California condor population wore a transmitter the geofence could detect. Keeping the system running is estimated to cost 8.5 million dollars over the 30 year permit term. A related measure removes dead livestock found near the turbines so it cannot draw in a scavenging condor. In 2023, that system found and removed 1 dead sheep.

We are trying to get out ahead of this.

Peter Sanzenbacher, Fish and Wildlife Service biologist who has worked the issue since 2016, quoted in source 4. Source 4.

How a wind farm has killed zero condors for years

How a wind farm has killed zero condors for years comes down to that monitoring, paired with a mitigation requirement, a condition of the permit meant to offset the harm the company is allowed to do. Manzana funds a full time Oregon Zoo employee to captive rear condors, a requirement meant to replace the 6 birds the permit allowed the company to take. The program released 10 condors into the wild in 2022 and 2023, with 2 more juveniles expected to reach releasable age in fall 2024, a combined 12 condors, twice the 6 the permit required.

As stated in the agency 2024 account, no condor deaths had been reported at Manzana. A followup published in August 2026 confirms the record still holds, with zero deaths at Manzana or at any other wind project under a similar permit.

We are really pleased that all has gone to plan, and we appreciate everyone working on condor recovery that contributed to this effort.

Peter Sanzenbacher, Fish and Wildlife Service biologist, quoted in source 2. Source 2.

The zero death permit model is expanding beyond Manzana

The zero death permit model is expanding beyond Manzana. In June 2023, the Fish and Wildlife Service issued a similar incidental take permit to the Wind Energy Consortium for the Advancement of Technology, covering 24 wind companies under the same geofence and curtailment approach. In November 2023, the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power received its own permit for the Pine Tree Wind Farm. Both extend the same model that has kept turbine caused condor deaths at zero since Manzana first proved it could work.