Facts
An offshore wind farm near the Energy Futures Centre was initially proposed by the Aberdeen Renewable Energy Group (AREG) in 2003. The original plan was for 20 two-megawatt turbines in an eight kilometres long row about 1 kilometre offshore. [1]
American millionaire and future United States President Donald Trump purchased a large part of the Menie estate near the village of Balmedie in 2006. He proposed to build a golf course called Trump International Golf Links, Scotland, with a hotel, holiday homes and a residential village. [2] He expressed his concerns about the wind farm in April 2006 stating that "I want to see the ocean, I do not want to see windmills." [3]
In 2006 RSPB Scotland expressed concern about the effect the wind farm and Donald Trump's golf course would have on the wildlife on the Aberdeenshire coast. [3] Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond helped Trump through local land disputes to enable the golf resort. [4]
In 2011, Aberdeen Offshore Wind Farm Ltd applied to construct and operate the Aberdeen Bay Wind Farm (European Offshore Wind Deployment Centre) with 11 turbines, about 3.5 km from the resort. The proposed windfarm would be visible from the resort and several other golf courses, like Newburgh On Ythan, Murcar Links, Royal Aberdeen and others, [4] some of which also have nearby turbines. [5]
In September 2011 the Trump Organization filed an objection to the planning application. [6]
Donald Trump also wrote to Salmond objecting to the turbines calling them "environmentally irresponsible". [6] In a follow-up letter in the same month, he went on to describe the wind turbines as "ugly", and that he was "fighting for the benefit of Scotland." [7]
In January 2012, Donald Trump halted work developing the golf resort pending a decision on the wind farm by Scottish ministers. [8] In March 2012, Trump sent another letter to Alex Salmond warning the first minister that he would become "known for centuries" as "the man who destroyed Scotland". [9] Appearing before the Scottish Parliament's economy, energy and tourism committee in April 2012, he claimed that he had been "lured" into building the golf resort upon assurances by the former and current first ministers, Jack McConnell and Alex Salmond, that the wind farm would not be built. [10] Jack McConnell and Alex Salmond denied the claims. [10] Trump stated that his golf course was due to open in July, but his plans for a hotel and hundreds of homes on the site had been put on hold. [10] In September 2012, complaints were upheld by the Advertising Standards Authority about newspaper adverts commissioned by The Trump Organization which gave "a misleading impression of the possible consequences of the Scottish government's plans to use wind turbines." [11] In October 2012, Trump attacked RSPB Scotland for dropping opposition to the wind farm claiming that "their name should be changed to RSKB - Royal Society for the Killing of Birds." [12] Later that month, his lawyers called for a public inquiry into the wind farm. [13] In December 2012, an advertisement sanctioned by The Trump Organization appeared in print which claimed that "tourism will suffer and the beauty of your country is in jeopardy". [14] The advert was later ruled "misleading" by the Advertising Standards Authority. [14]
When planning consent was granted by the Scottish government in March 2013, Trump vowed to "spend whatever monies are necessary to see to it that these huge and unsightly industrial wind turbines are never constructed." [15]
All eleven turbines of the completed wind farm.
Court case
In May 2013, Trump launched a legal challenge against the Scottish government's decision to grant planning permission for the wind farm. [16] The appellants, Trump International Golf Club Scotland Ltd, opposed consent for the development. It was challenged on two grounds. First, it was claimed that the Scottish Minister's consent under the Electricity Act 1989 section 36 to build a wind farm was ultra vires . Trump Ltd argued Sch 9, para 3 gave rise to a necessary implication that only holders of licences to generate electricity, or exempt persons, could get section 36 consent. This meant the Scottish Ministers were not persons able to give consent, under sections 5 or 6 of the Electricity Act 1989. Second, Trump claimed that because condition 14 of the consent required submission and approval of a design statement, condition 14 was void for uncertainty. The hearing began at the Court of Session in November 2013, [17] but was rejected in February 2014. [18] An appeal against the decision was heard at the Court of Session in January 2015, [19] but Trump lost the appeal in June 2015. [20] After the decision Trump said he would appeal before both the Supreme Court of the UK and the European Courts. [20] Trump was unanimously found to be the loser of the case by the UK Supreme Court in December 2015. [21]
Judgment
Court of Session
On the first ground, the Lord President stated "The scheme of the legislation is that the granting of a consent under section 36 and the granting of a licence or an exemption under sections 6 and 5 respectively, are two separate processes". On the second ground, he stated, "If a design statement is not satisfactory to the Ministers, there will be no approval of the construction method statement without which the development cannot begin. There is no ambiguity when condition 14 is read in that way". [22] The other two judges who sat on the case concurred with this reasoning.
Supreme Court
The Supreme Court unanimously held that the planning permission was sound. The nature of the Electricity Act 1989 did not support the appellant's argument. The Act sought to liberalise the electricity market in Britain, and it is not necessary for those who build generating stations to be those generating the electricity. Even if condition 14 was unenforceable, that would not be enough to invalidate the consent. [23]
Lord Hodge gave the first speech (Lord Neuberger and Lord Reed agreeing). He held under the Electricity Act 1989 section 36, consent to build a wind farm was available to anyone, before getting a licence under s 6 or a s 5 exemption. Condition 14 promoted important environmental benefits.
Lord Mance agreed, adding that he ‘would not encourage advocates or courts to adopt too rigid or sequential an approach to the processes of consideration of the express terms and of consideration of the possibility of an implication.’ Both Lord Neuberger and Lord Clarke recognised in M&S that both express and implied terms are part of the process of construction as a whole.
Lord Carnwath agreed, adding that implication of terms in planning cases should follow the same basic principles of implication as elsewhere in the law, disapproving Sevenoaks DC [2004] EWHC 771 (Admin).
Balmedie is a large village in Aberdeenshire in Scotland. It lies north of the city of Aberdeen, in the civil parish of Belhelvie. The long and wide beach is bordered by an extensive dune system that stretches 14 miles (23 km) from Aberdeen to just north of the Ythan Estuary at Newburgh. The dynamic dunes have marram grass as the principal vegetation. They support a large array of wildlife. Two watercourses make their way to the sea within the area creating ribbons of wetland vegetation along their course. The village is near the Sands of Forvie Site of Special Scientific Interest, the fifth largest sand dune system in Britain; this is an integral part of the Ythan Estuary, which separates the sands from Balmedie Beach.
The United Kingdom is the best location for wind power in Europe and one of the best in the world. The combination of long coastline, shallow water and strong winds make offshore wind unusually effective.
The production of renewable energy in Scotland is a topic that came to the fore in technical, economic, and political terms during the opening years of the 21st century. The natural resource base for renewable energy is high by European, and even global standards, with the most important potential sources being wind, wave, and tide. Renewables generate almost all of Scotland's electricity, mostly from the country's wind power.
Wind power is the fastest-growing renewable energy technology in Scotland, with 11,482 megawatts (MW) of installed wind power capacity by Q1 2023. This included 9,316 MW from onshore wind in Scotland and 2,166 MW of offshore wind generators.
Gwynt y Môr is a 576-megawatt (MW) offshore wind farm located off the coast of north Wales and is the fifth largest operating offshore windfarm in the world. The farm has 160 wind turbines of 150 metres (490 ft) tip height above mean sea level.
Michael Forbes is a farmer, part-time salmon fisherman and quarry worker from near Balmedie in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, who became known after his refusal to sell his land to Donald Trump for a golf course and resort.
Whitelee Wind Farm is a windfarm on the Eaglesham moor in Scotland. The main visitor centre is located in East Renfrewshire, but the majority of turbines are located in East Ayrshire and South Lanarkshire. It is the largest on-shore wind farm in the United Kingdom with 215 Siemens and Alstom wind turbines and a total capacity of 539 megawatts (MW), with the average of 2.5 MW per turbine. Whitelee was developed and is operated by ScottishPower Renewables, which is part of the Spanish company Iberdrola.
The Clyde Wind Farm is a 522 megawatt (MW) wind farm near Abington in South Lanarkshire, Scotland.
Neart Na Gaoithe is an offshore wind farm under construction in the outer Firth of Forth, 15.5 kilometres (9.6 mi) east of Fife Ness. It has a potential capacity of 450 MW. It is being developed by EDF Renewables and ESB. Offshore work began in 2020, with completion originally planned for 2023 but delayed due to supply chain challenges until 2024.
The Beatrice Offshore Wind Farm now known as Beatrice Offshore Windfarm Ltd (BOWL) project, is an offshore wind farm close to the Beatrice oil field in the Moray Firth, part of the North Sea 13 km off the north east coast of Scotland.
West of Duddon Sands Wind Farm (WoDS), occasionally also known as West Duddon Wind Farm is an offshore wind farm located 14 kilometres (8.7 mi) south west of Walney Island off the coast of Barrow-in-Furness in Cumbria, in the Irish Sea, England. It was developed by Scottish Power and Ørsted A/S.
Teesside Wind Farm, or alternatively referred to as Redcar Wind Farm, is a 27 turbine 62 MW capacity offshore wind farm constructed just to the east of the mouth of the River Tees and 1.5 km north of Redcar off the North Yorkshire coast, in the North Sea, England.
Viking Wind Farm is a large on-shore wind farm under construction in the Shetland Islands which is being developed by Viking Energy, a partnership between Shetland Islands Council and SSE plc. When complete, it will have a generation capacity of 443 MW.
Dogger Bank Wind Farm is a group of offshore wind farms under construction 130 to 200 kilometres off the east coast of Yorkshire, England in the North Sea. It is considered to be the world's largest offshore windfarm. It was developed by the Forewind consortium, with three phases envisioned - first phase, second phase and third phase. In 2015, the third phase was abandoned, while the first and second phases were granted consent. It was initially expected that the Dogger Bank development will consist of four offshore wind farms, each with a capacity of up to 1.2 GW, creating a combined capacity of 4.8 GW. As of 2024, a total of 8.1 GW generating capacity is expected to be installed on Dogger Bank.
The European Offshore Wind Deployment Centre (EOWDC), also known as the Aberdeen Bay Wind Farm is an offshore wind test and demonstration facility located around 3 kilometres off the east coast of Aberdeenshire, in the North Sea, Scotland. It was developed by the European Offshore Wind Deployment Centre consortium. The scheme is relatively small - it consists of 11 wind turbines with an installed capacity of 93.2 megawatts. It is located between Blackdog and Bridge of Don near Aberdeen. First power was generated in July 2018, with full commissioning following in September 2018.
The East Anglia Array is a proposed series of offshore wind farms located around 30 miles off the east coast of East Anglia, in the North Sea, England. It has begun with the currently operational East Anglia ONE, that has been developed in partnership by ScottishPower Renewables and Vattenfall. Up to six individual projects could be set up in the area with a maximum capacity of up to 7.2 GW. The first project, East Anglia ONE at 714 MW, received planning consent in June 2014 and contracts in April 2016. Offshore construction began in 2018 and the project was commissioned in July 2020. It is expected to cost £2.5 billion.
Kilgallioch Wind Farm is a 96 turbine wind farm in South Ayrshire, Scotland with a total capacity of up to 239 megawatts (MW). Consent granted by the Scottish Government in February 2013 with construction starting in 2015 and completed in 2017. The wind farm contains 70 km of internal tracks, and a surface area of roughly 32 km2.
Trump International Golf Links, Scotland is a golf course in Balmedie, Aberdeenshire, Scotland, owned by Donald Trump. It opened in 2012.
Alex Salmond's term as first minister of Scotland began on 17 May 2007 when he was formally sworn into office at the Court of Session. It followed his Scottish National Party's win at the 2007 Scottish Parliament election, where his party defeated the incumbent Labour Party by just one seat. Salmond's term ended on 18 November 2014, following his resignation in the aftermath of the Yes campaign's defeat in the 2014 Scottish independence referendum.
The United Kingdom became the world leader of offshore wind power generation in October 2008 when it overtook Denmark.
