Trump to Scotland: Wind farms hurt tourism

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EDINBURGH, Scotland, April 25 (UPI) -- Real estate tycoon Donald Trump Wednesday urged the Scottish government to give up plans for wind farms, saying they would be bad for tourism.

Trump, appearing before a Scottish parliamentary committee, specifically objected to a plan to put offshore wind turbines near the golf resort he is building 10 miles north of Aberdeen. But he warned other projects, using Chinese-made turbines, "are going to be the destruction -- almost the total destruction -- of your tourism industry."

"I've spent a tremendous amount of money -- debt-free, no debt on the property, nothing -- building what many are already considering to be the greatest golf course anywhere in the world," Trump said. "I don't want to see it destroyed by having 11 monstrosities built looming over it, literally one mile away."

First Minister Alex Salmond is an advocate of wind energy. In a letter to Trump, he said Scotland is estimated to have about one-quarter of the potential wind energy in Europe, which could make the country a "key hub" in renewable energy.

Trump also argued wind farms need heavy subsidies and the turbines kill birds.

Scottish officials have pointed to a recent poll that showed few people in Britain would make vacation decisions based on the presence of wind farms.