Wind farm’s developer refuses to back down despite Trump threat

THE head of Swedish energy giant Vattenfall says he will not be intimidated by Donald Trump’s threats to thwart the development of a £150 million offshore wind farm less than two miles from the American tycoon’s forthcoming golf resort.

Øystein Løseth, who last year became the first non-Swede to run the state-owned utility, told Scotland on Sunday his firm was used to dealing with resistance from individuals or organisations, and it was for the entire community to decide what would best suit the area’s needs.

Vattenfall is partnering with subsea company Technip and the Aberdeen Renewable Energy Group over a proposed 11-turbine demonstration offshore farm, which would sit in the waters near the Menie Estate in Aberdeenshire, where Trump has already spent £60m building his links course.

Løseth said the partnership would take into account all feedback from an extensive public consultation but he was not frightened by Trump’s pledge earlier this month to fight the project “on every possible front”.

“It’s not unusual that one organisation or one party has difficulty with our plans, but if the community in general is positive then usually those [planning] permits will be consented,” Løseth said in a phone interview from Stockholm.

“No [we won’t be frightened off] but we take every concern seriously. We and also the local government have to decide what is best for the society – is it the golf course or electricity from the wind farm? That is a question they [the local government] have to ask themselves.”

Speaking for the first time about Trump’s objections, which were detailed earlier this month in a letter to First Minister Alex Salmond, Løseth said Vattenfall would prefer an amicable solution, allowing both the wind farm and golf course to operate “in harmony”.

In his letter, Trump said the demonstration wind farm would have an “adverse visual impact” on his links course and the Aberdeenshire coastline which would be “disastrous”.

Løseth will travel to Scotland this week to speak at the Low Carbon Investment Conference in Edinburgh.

Vattenfall has so far invested £1.5 billion in projects across the UK, including in the vast Thanet project in the waters off the Kent coast, which is the world’s largest offshore wind farm to date.

Løseth said he anticipates spending “considerably more than” £2bn between 2016 and 2024, as the company has identified the UK as a key growth market for renewables.

In Scotland, the utility has plans for projects to add up to 650 megawatts of generation. “That is also a considerable investment,” said Løseth.

Despite concerns in some quarters about the UK government’s ongoing electricity market reform, and fears that proposed new incentives may not stimulate the same levels of investment as the old system of Renewables Obligation Certificates, Løseth said he was optimistic that the UK market would remain favourable.

He also praised the Scottish Government for its stance on developing a low carbon economy: “We are very impressed by the targets the Scottish Government has [set] and we have said we want to be a partner in Scotland and participate in this development.”