Donald Trump and his tirade against Wind Farms.

[Deleted]

Sod it. Where to even begin. Back story first I think:

Donald Trump back in 2010 began plans to build a Gold Course near the beaches of Balmedi, Aberdeenshire. It was suggested that this Golf Course would bring in roughly 700 jobs and attract further investments to the country, etc, etc. Most the people of Aberdeen were largely in support of his Golf Course building and he has since then gone on to build the thing. However, at the same time our multi-billion pound renewables Industry was planning to build a wind farm just off the coast. Trump literally threw a hissy fit about this and said that if the Wind Farm plans weren't stopped, he would stop building the hotel on his Golf Course (Which would be what would bring in the majority of jobs there) because the Wind Farms would be far too ugly for him to even consider building something there.

After such he's been on a massive tirade against Wind Farms, declaring Scotland's tourism industry will be ruined by them and that we'll be sealing our economic suffering etc from building them.

I best briefly cover this as well: Wind Farms are noted for this in-efficiency, this is correct. However, these are being built in the North Sea, a few miles off the coast of Aberdeen. This is literally one of the windiest places on the planet. Wind Turbines operate at double efficiency in Scotland compared to most of the rest of the world, that is a fact, not a wild guess.

Back onto Trump however. His Golf Course has cost people homes where he built it, as well as building it on an area of Scientific Interest (The Balmedi and Newburgh Sand Dunes are the only area in the world where entire Sand Dunes shift places overnight). He is now refusing to complete his plan to build the Golf Course, due to his complaining about a Wind Farm that will literally be a speck on the horizon in the North Sea from where his Golf Course is. Trumps investment is definitely something we greatly seek, as it'll bring in a lot of jobs to Scotland.

At the same time however, our Renewables Industry is a massive part of our economy, employing roughly 11,000 people in Scotland, and this Wind Farm will bring in roughly a thousand more jobs.

To top this all off, he's taken the matter to the Scottish Government to try and protest it. Despite overwhelming support of the Scottish public for the Wind Farm (Roughly 3/4). This is going to waste time in regards to both the building of the Wind Farm and the building of the Golf Course, as well as costing the Scottish Government tens of thousands in legal fees, supplied by the tax payers.

He is essentially at this point, interfering with Scottish Politics in a manner that no other non-Scottish national has ever dared to do, wasting thousands of pounds of tax payers money, and thousands more by delaying the Wind Farm project. He's made some claims in court that the Scottish First Minister of the Time (Jack McConnel) promised him that the Wind Farms wouldn't be built (The FM denied this outright) and has accused the current First Minister (Alex Salmond) of saying the exact same thing at a Dinner Conference in New York in 2008, which was apparently held with several Scottish Ministers (Salmond denies the Wind Farm topic was brought up and Trump was evasive when asked where this event took place and who the other Scottish Ministers were).

He also claims he's going to spend around £10 Million dollars campaigning against the Wind Farms.

To summarise my opinion, I'm just irritated that this overgrown Man Child has discovered he can't always get his way and is throwing his toys out of the pram. This is going to cost the Scottish people a lot of money for what is essentially complaining that he thinks the Turbines will look "Ugly" despite them being several miles out to sea.

Please take him back America :/

Edit: Various articles on the matter.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012...ish-parliament

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotlan...itics-17826561

http://www.newsnetscotland.com/index...maging-tourism

http://www.scotsman.com/the-scotsman...aims-1-2240974

[delus]

No, he's yours now...

[Deleted]

am i the only one who thinks windturbines look nice? :P just had some built here a while ago up in the hills and they look quite awesome, look very pretty up high in the hills.

[Deleted]

am i the only one who thinks windturbines look nice? :P just had some built here a while ago up in the hills and they look quite awesome, look very pretty up high in the hills.

A large percentage of people actually do think they look nice. It was polled that only around 6% of the population think they look ugly.

[xylophone]

Lol, Donald Trump

[Adam Jensen]

He's just mad because they'll blow his . . . toupee . . . off.

am i the only one who thinks windturbines look nice? :P just had some built here a while ago up in the hills and they look quite awesome, look very pretty up high in the hills.

I think they're elegant. Minnesota has them all over the place. They really aren't that ugly, nor do they ruin the landscape.

[Deleted]

Do you think hundreds of years ago in the netherlands there were protest groups against windmills?

[Adam Jensen]

Do you think hundreds of years ago in the netherlands there were protest groups against windmills?

Well, there was one Spaniard in protest against windmills.

[Fuzzzie]

Do you think hundreds of years ago in the netherlands there were protest groups against windmills?

Don Quixote was know to attack them from time to time.

Maybe you just discovered an interesting piece of Scottish performance art.

[Activi-T]

You wanted more devolved power in Scotland. This might give you some insight into the shit that Westminster has to wade through when trying to balance 'whats best for the country' against 'public opinion'. Also the fact that sometimes you have to deal with people you'd rather not for the benefit of a nation. Good luck in resolving this amicably.

I've never liked Trump either. He has always struck me as an ignorant, supercilious idiot. And his attitude here is par for the course... *ba-dum tis*

[ptwonline]

Trump is just afraid the wind turbines are like giant fans, and they'll blow his fake hair off his head!

[Sole-Warrior]

Wind farms can be quite aesthetically appealing depending where you place them, outside/around the bay area during the summers when the grass turns a golden-brown color, these towering monuments can be quite magnificant.

[Shâréz]

Do you think hundreds of years ago in the netherlands there were protest groups against windmills?

Yes, and people here still complain and protest about every single one thats built. Same with high-voltage electricity lines, radio towers and anything else that might interfere with their precious view of the landscape. Heck, I believe there were even several lawsuits in regards to the windmill parks we built off-shore in the North Sea.

People complain, it's in their nature, and people will always find something to complain about. I complain about things, I'm sure everyone else in this thread does so as well. In this case it's Donald Trump. And the sad part of that is that, in the end, he'll likely have his way. And in the unlikely event that he doesn't, well then I can totaly picture him acting like a parasite to that region.

[Wells]

The ones in the middle of Washington state are rather pretty.

[Sole-Warrior]

I don't understand why Trump is against wind energy so much, although it isn't perfect its definately alot cleaner and greener then coal or oil, the price for wind as been declining as the technology improves. I don't see or hear him critisizing big oil when they pollute.

If I had to guess why it could be he doesn't hold any stocks in the renewable energy industry.

[Reeve]

I always liked the way wind farms look.

I don't think it's any surprise to anyone how much of a moron Trump is though. It's easy to make lots of money when you have lots of money to begin with. I think my only complaint about wind farms were if a giant turbine was built near my home and made a ton of noise. The ones out in the North Sea bother no one.

---------- Post added 2012-04-25 at 10:11 PM ----------

He's just mad because they'll blow his . . . toupee . . . off.



I think they're elegant. Minnesota has them all over the place. They really aren't that ugly, nor do they ruin the landscape.

So does Texas and Oklahoma. I flew over a wind farm the other day, and from cruising altitude, I couldn't see the end of the windfarm in all directions.

---------- Post added 2012-04-25 at 10:13 PM ----------

My understanding of the main trouble with wind is that it can't be used for base load because we don't have the ability to store the energy for later use. That means you can only use it to support a more conventional power plant that can scale up or down its power output to make up for loss in power from the wind farms when such a thing occurs.

[Jaojin]

Well, there was one Spaniard in protest against windmills.

And now there is one american who is also protesting. They could, perhaps, be afflicted in the same manner.

No one likes Donald Trump, he is the embodiment of: "I'm wealthy and powerful therefore things should always be exactly as I want them." Grow up Trump. The future is not in golf courses or hotels, it is in renewable resources and energy efficiency.

[Chaochamp]

I don't understand why Trump is against wind energy so much, although it isn't perfect its definately alot cleaner and greener then coal or oil, the price for wind as been declining as the technology improves. I don't see or hear him critisizing big oil when they pollute.

If I had to guess why it could be he doesn't hold any stocks in the renewable energy industry.

He doesn't hate them for being clean, he hates them because (he thinks) they look ugly, which is the exact opposite of what an investor is looking for when building a hotel / golf course.

[Adam Jensen]

Britain might hate me but.. if you take trump back we will take piers morgan back.. and I say that painfully.

Deal.

Trump doesn't bark on TV as often.

[Deleted]

He doesn't hate them for being clean, he hates them because (he thinks) they look ugly, which is the exact opposite of what an investor is looking for when building a hotel / golf course.

but they are going to be a couple of miles off the coast, not like they're building them a few foot away from his hotel.