Trump vs Wind Farm Opens in Scotland

---

Lawyers for Donald Trump began arguing a legal challenge in a Scottish court today against a wind farm development, which Mr. Trump believes will ruin the views from his golf course development in Aberdeen.

In March, the Scottish government approved plans by European Offshore Wind Deployment Centre -- a venture between Vattenfall AB, Technip and Aberdeen Renewable Energy Group -- to build 11 wind turbines off the coast, capable of generating enough power for more than 49,000 homes.

But Mr. Trump has vehemently opposed the wind farm project, which is visible from the Trump International Golf Links, which opened in 2012. Mr. Trump has threatened to cancel plans for a hotel and residential development around the golf course if the wind farm goes ahead.

Trump lawyers argue the decision to approve the wind farm was unlawful and did not involve public comment. Consent for the wind farm should not have been granted without a license to generate electricity, they say.

The case is shaping up as a battle between Mr. Trump and Alex Salmond, Scotland's first minister, who has made green energy a top priority for Scotland. Mr. Salmond wants to make Scotland a center for wind power in Europe.

"Alex Salmond has a death wish for Scotland, where he wants to put these horrendous industrial wind turbines all over the place," Mr. Trump told the Wall Street Journal last week.

Mr. Trump's golf course project has been controversial from the start, attracting criticism from environmentalists and local preservationists, who claimed the project is inappropriate for the coastline.

The case against the wind farm is set to last four days at the Court of Session in Edinburgh

"We are confident of our case," Trump executive George Sorial told Bloomberg. "We have absolute confidence that the Scottish legal system will resolve this matter fairly."

Video: Trump International Golf Links