US President Donald Trump has branded wind turbines “ugly monsters” as he backed North Sea oil and gas.
The President spoke during a marathon press conference at his golf course in South Ayrshire alongside Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, who said the UK needs a “mix” of different types of energy.
Mr Trump has long been outspoken about his opposition to wind and famously strongly opposed an offshore development which is visible from his Aberdeenshire golf course.
Asked at the event if he had spoken to Sir Keir or planned to do so with Scottish First Minister John Swinney, Mr Trump said: “Wind is the most expensive form of energy and it destroys the beauty of your fields, your plains and your waterways.
“Wind needs massive subsidy, and you are paying in Scotland and in the UK, and all over the place, massive subsidies to have these ugly monsters all over the place.”
Instead, the President urged the UK to exploit North Sea oil and gas.
“When we go to Aberdeen, you’ll see some of the ugliest windmills you’ve ever seen, the height of a 50-storey building,” he said.
“You can take 1,000 times more energy out of a hole in the ground this big,” he added, gesturing with his hands.
“It’s called oil and gas, and you have it there in the North Sea.”
Last week, First Minister Mr Swinney described offshore wind as “one of Scotland’s greatest modern success stories”.
To the laughter of some of the assembled group, the Prime Minister – breaking with the President – calmly said: “We believe in a mix.
“Obviously, oil and gas is going to be with us for a very long time, and that’ll be part of the mix, but also wind, solar, increasingly nuclear, which is what we’ve been discussing this morning.
“As we go forward, the most important thing for the United Kingdom is that we have control of our energy and we have energy independence and security because, at the moment, whatever the attributes and facilities in the North Sea, that is sold on the international market and we buy it back off the international market.
“That was a historic mistake, in my view, but what we need is a mix so that we get the energy security we need for the future.”
