Wind turbines are an extraordinary way of producing eco-friendly energy, producing no air or water pollution during their operations. So, it really doesn’t come as a surprise that known climate sceptic, and climate terrorist, Donald Trump, objects to them, and has called for Aberdeen to dispose of their ‘windmills’ after losing legal appeals against them in 2019. Trump announced today that he is set to meet Keir Starmer in Aberdeen later this month and has already expressed strong opinions on what the city should be doing better.
Trump’s main concern with Aberdeen seems to be the European Offshore Wind Deployment Centre (EOWDC), which consists of 11 turbines. The EOWDC is expected to produce 309GWh of electric energy annually. To put that in perspective, in 2019, Aberdeen’s electric energy consumption was 1073GWh, suggesting that the turbines will make Aberdeen significantly greener. Wind turbines don’t just offer environmentally friendly benefits. The EOWDC has the potential to create jobs, or even an economic boom, for local Aberdonians. Wind turbines are also a cost-effective renewable energy source and crucially reduce reliance on fossil fuels. Encouragingly, the UK agrees with many polls showing 70-80% of the population favouring both onshore and offshore energy.
Trump, however, strongly opposes wind turbines. Many of his arguments against them, though, are not backed by science, including his claim that they lead to whale deaths by making the whales ‘batty’. Despite these assertions, the positive effects of wind turbines and the strong UK public support they receive suggest that turbines belong in our country, despite what certain people may say.
Despite protests that were triggered by his last visit in 2018, Trump proudly holds affection for most of our country. However, this does not extend to our wind turbines, which rudely disrupt the view on his golf course in Aberdeen. His anti-turbine opinions are well known to those in the North East of Scotland, with his long and futile war beginning before the EOWDC was even developed, with Trump attempting to prevent their construction. On top of being against wind turbines (or windmills if you prefer Trump terms), the Scottish Government had the audacity to make the Trump International Golf Club Scotland Ltd pay back the legal fees of the president’s last court battle to halt the project. Despite massive costs and baseless arguments, it’s unlikely that Trump’s vendetta against the turbines will end anytime soon.
Ahead of his visit this month, Trump has extended some friendly advice to the city of Aberdeen, suggesting that they should ‘bring back oil’ and ‘get rid of windmills’. Trump’s presidency has already caused concerns for the carbon footprint of the USA, but clearly, he wants to spread this anti-eco agenda to other parts of the globe. Going back to oil would be a massive step back for green initiatives in Aberdeen, which now has ‘clean air zones’ and is ranked second in a study completed by Group 1 Automotive, describing which cities are doing the best at becoming greener. Of course, many of Trump’s arguments aren’t actually about the climate. He argues that ‘windmills’ are detrimental to the beauty of the country, but if you think about it, a major oil spill wouldn’t be aesthetically pleasing either.
Despite Trump’s protests and tantrums, it’s incredibly unlikely that Scotland will stop the development of wind turbines. Unlike some countries across the water, our Government aims to hit, or at least be close to, their climate targets, and is a willing participant in the Paris Agreement. Trump’s apparent lack of knowledge on the subject will also mar his attempts to abolish turbines – as stated in the Art of War, “know your enemies and know yourself, and you will not be defeated in a hundred battles”, and it appears that the American politician isn’t entirely sure what the name of the thing he’s objecting to even is.