Final turbine installed at wind farm opposed by Trump

A green energy project using the world’s most powerful wind turbines – which faced legal challenges from Donald Trump – has passed a milestone with the installation of the final device.

Bosses at Vattenfall confirmed the last of the 11 turbines at its European Offshore Wind Deployment Centre (EOWDC) off Aberdeen was put in place on Saturday. The turbines installed include the most powerful in the world. It is also the first commercial project to use a new style of foundations, each of which weigh almost as much as ten Boeing 747 aircraft.

The giant turbines are 191 metres tall, with each blade being 80m long, while the 164m rotor has a circumference larger than that of the London Eye.

The Aberdeen Bay development will be Scotland’s largest offshore wind test and demonstration facility and will trial next generation technology.

But it has been hit by delays – including legal challenges from Donald Trump, who claimed the turbines would ruin the views from his golf course at Balmedie.

The development is now scheduled to start generating power this summer, and should produce the equivalent of more than 70 per cent of Aberdeen’s domestic electricity demand.

Speaking after the final turbine was installed Adam Ezzamel, EOWDC project director at Vattenfall, said: “The erection of the final turbine is a significant milestone, and with the completion of array cable installation just a few days away, we now move on to the final commissioning phase of the wind farm prior to first power later this summer.”