Donald Trump has launched a furious attack on the company planning a £300 million wind farm off the coast of his Aberdeenshire golf resort, after it announced that it would not be deterred by the Brexit vote.
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A windfarm which had been opposed by controversial U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump got given the go-ahead today.
Vattenfall has chose to invest more than £300 million to build Scotland’s largest offshore wind test and demonstration facility.
Construction of what is also called the European Offshore Wind Deployment Centre will kick off later this year onshore near Blackdog with offshore works kicking off late 2017.
“We aim to double our wind power capacity from 2 to 4 GW by 2020 and are focusing on reducing and streamlining our offshore wind power costs”, said Magnus Hall, CEO and president of Vattenfall.
According to Vattenfall, the development of the EOWDC was taken forward with a local partner, the Aberdeen Renewable Energy Group.
“Scotland has 25% of Europe’s offshore wind resource and this new development provides a great opportunity to progress on capturing the benefits at lowest cost and least impact to the environment”.
He added: “The commitment of both Vattenfall and Aberdeen Renewable Energy Group to the EOWDC is to be commended, and plans for the site will help develop the renewable energy supply chain in the North East and across Scotland”.
The go-ahead for the project comes in the wake of claims that Scotland’s offshore wind sector is “pretty much dead”, made by former United Kingdom energy minister Brian Wilson after consent for four east coast projects was overturned on environmental grounds.
The Scottish Greens said it was “welcome news”.
Minister for Business, Innovation and Energy, Paul Wheelhouse, said: “This project will keep our nation at the forefront of innovation by allowing energy companies to identify new ways to reduce operating costs”. “The British government wants wind power to continue making up a significant part of the country’s climate-neutral electricity generation”.
The Swedish firm noted that its decision to invest in the project shows its long-term commitment to wind power in the United Kingdom regardless of the Brexit vote.
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Lindsay Roberts, senior policy manager at industry body Scottish Renewables, said: “This announcement is great news for Scotland’s offshore wind industry, and together with developments at Levenmouth, Hunterston and Statoil’s Hywind project helps cement Scotland as a hub for innovation in the sector”. The EOWDC is expected to generate its first power in spring 2018.
