Donald Trump Continues Fighting Scottish Wind Farm

Donald Trump has taken time out of his busy presidential campaign to reiterate his intention to keep fighting the planned offshore wind farm which is scheduled to be built off the coast of Aberdeenshire. Trump owns a golf course in the vicinity and has branded the wind project an act of “public vandalism”.

However, Trump has already lost a legal battle with the Scottish government last year, after three senior judges in Edinburgh threw out his case last June. Despite such a setback, Trump has vowed to fight the renewable energy project in court again.

A progressive project in the face of adversity

After the surprise win of the Leave campaign in June’s Brexit referendum, the future of the renewable sector in Scotland had been thrown into doubt. Though the SNP has long championed wind and solar power as energy sources of the future, the UK government have recently cut back subsidies and funding for a number of renewable energy incentives.

However, the site has been earmarked for development for several years and Swedish company Vattenfall announced they would stick to the £300m investment commitment made prior to the Brexit vote. As a result, 11 turbines are expected to be built on the site.

These turbines will not only garner invaluable power from Scotland’s famously strong offshore wind patterns, but also serve as a testing ground for reducing the cost of the technology. At present, the installation and upkeep of offshore wind farms means that they cost roughly double those on firm land.

Trump objects

However, Trump has taken Vattenfall’s commitment to the plan as a bull might take to a red rag, signalling his intention to bring the case before the European courts if necessary. His advisors claim that there are a number of planning conditions which have not yet been fulfilled and have said they will be lodging a claim with Marine Scotland.

“We remind those who care about this coastline that the European Offshore Wind Deployment Centre (EOWDC) was promoted as an experimental test station, and after more than 10 years of floundering through the planning process, the technology behind the scheme is exceptionally outdated,” said a Trump spokesperson in a statement. “The gross incompetence demonstrated by Aberdeen city council officials is disturbing and they have failed to protect the safety and best interests of their residents, which will become their tragic legacy should the EOWDC proceed.”

Although assessing how renewable technology may disrupt landscapes is a key aspect of any decision-making process when it comes to the installation of new power sources, a slightly spoiled view for wealthy golfers surely shouldn’t be a serious point of contention.

After Trump’s case was thrown out last year, it appears that the UK legal system agrees and it’s surely only a matter of time before the proposed wind farm goes ahead – though Trump appears to be hell-bent on delaying that as long as possible.