The US president has taken a swipe at wind power as the blades visible from his Turnberry golf course turn
The wind turbines visible from Donald Trump’s Turnberry and Menie golf courses have long enraged the president. At a press conference at his Ayrshire resort announcing a trade deal with the EU this weekend, Trump launched into an unprompted tirade against windfarms, instructing European countries to get rid of theirs. He was visiting Turnberry for the first time since the nearby onshore Kirk Hill windfarm began producing energy from eight turbines.
But were his comments about wind power correct?
Trump claimed: “It is the worst form of energy, the most expensive form of energy, but windmills should not be allowed.”
This is certainly not true for onshore wind, which is cheap to build and generates electricity very inexpensively. Offshore windfarms cost more to build but when it is windy produces electricity extremely cheaply. There are costs associated with wind; the energy secretary, Ed Miliband, has recently faced criticism for setting the maximum price at his upcoming renewable energy auction at £113 a megawatt-hour for offshore wind, for record-length contracts of 20 years.
