American billionaire and presidential hopeful Donald Trump has had his long-running dispute against offshore wind farm developers in Scotland dismissed.
The UK’s Supreme Court, the highest court in the country, unanimously dismissed the appeal put forward by Trump International Golf Club to revoke consent for the construction of an offshore wind farm which is set to be developed off the coast of Aberdeenshire, in Scotland, within viewing distance of the golf course and accompanying resort.
The project in question is a possible-100 MW wind farm being developed by the Aberdeen Offshore Wind Farm (AOWFL) company. The farm, upon completion, will act as the European Offshore Wind Deployment Centre (EOWDC) in Aberdeen Bay, and will be made up of 11 turbines and a maximum generation capability of 100 MW. The proposed wind farm is approximately 3.5 kilometers from the golf resort.
“This is another significant step forward for the EOWDC,” said Andy Paine, Project Director for AOWFL. “It affirms the scheme’s potential to position Scotland, and particularly the North-east, as a centre of innovative offshore wind power. The project partners remain committed to seeing the EOWDC come to fruition and delivering long-term economic benefits to the region.”
The judgement by the Supreme Court is available to read (PDF) in its entirety, but in short, Donald Trump has lost this battle along every step of the legal journey, with both challenges put to the Supreme Court being rejected outright.
Unsurprisingly, Donald Trump does not appear to be taking the decision well. A spokesman for Trump told the BBC that, “This is an extremely unfortunate verdict for the residents of Aberdeen and anyone who cares about Scotland’s economic future. The EOWDC will completely destroy the bucolic Aberdeen Bay and cast a terrible shadow upon the future of tourism for the area.
“History will judge those involved unfavourably and the outcome demonstrates the foolish, small-minded and parochial mentality which dominates the current Scottish government’s dangerous experiment with wind energy,” the spokesperson continued, adding that “We will evaluate the court’s decision and continue to fight this proposal on every possible front.”
Scotland’s Energy Minister Fergus Ewing responded, saying, “I am pleased that the Supreme Court has unanimously found in our favour. The proposed European Offshore Wind Deployment Centre is an important project for Aberdeen and north east Scotland.
“It will give the industry the ability to test and demonstrate new technologies to enable costs to be further reduced. Aberdeen is already of global importance for hydrocarbons and this wind deployment centre cements its role in renewable offshore development, further positioning Aberdeen as the energy capital of Europe and a world energy centre.”
Image Credit: via Mike Licht, via Flickr
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