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The University of Minnesota faces a proposed penalty of $14,536 for illegally killing a bald eagle with a wind turbine. (Photo by FloridaStock)

The University of Minnesota may have to pay a $14,536 penalty for the death of an American bald eagle at its Eolos Wind Energy Research Field Station in Dakota County, Minnesota.

Fox News reports that the wind energy research station, where a wind turbine struck and dismembered a bald eagle into three pieces, is part of a green energy initiative funded by a grant from the Obama administration.

According to the violation notice, the university violated the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act by killing the eagle without an "incidental take permit." Therefore, the university faces a proposed civil penalty of $14,536 for illegally killing the bird.

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According to a Department of the Interior (DOI) violation notice, the university was in the process of testing its collision detection sensors when the incident occurred.

Technicians found the eagle’s lower torso and tail first and the head and wings were found over a month later.

After the incident, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service sent a letter to the university encouraging it to reassess the turbine’s threat to eagles and to consider applying for a long-term permit for incidental take of eagles. However, the DOI’s January notice of violation does not indicate that the university has yet obtained any such permit.

The Minnesota turbine, which was funded by a $7.9 million grant from the Obama Department of Energy in 2010, is a part of the university’s Eolos Wind Energy Research Consortium, a wind-energy research collaboration.

In addition to the Minnesota incident, other bald eagle deaths have occurred in recent years.

In January, FWS issued fines of $32,340 on renewable energy company Ørsted Onshore North America for two bald eagles killed by wind turbines in Nebraska and Illinois.