US PresidenT Donald Trump is known for his uncanny views. In the same vein POTUS over the years has made radical comments about renewable energy while openly pushing for consumption of fossil fuels.
In a recent meeting with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Sunday,- Trump reitirated what many call his inaccurate tirade against wind energy..
Donald Trump on Wind Turbines
While discussing what he described as US advantages over Europe, Trump shifted focus to wind turbines, railing against their presence in the American landscape.
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“We will not allow a windmill to be built in the United States, they’re killing us,” Trump declared. “They’re killing the beauty of our scenery, our valleys, our beautiful plains—I’m not talking about airplanes, I’m talking about beautiful plains.”
He continued, “beautiful areas in the United States, and you look up and you see windmills all over the place. It’s a horrible thing.”
The remarks came during his sit-down with von der Leyen at his Turnberry golf course in Scotland. Trump also referenced how wind turbines spoil the view from the property, saying he could see them “on the horizon.”
Donald Trump Earlier Signed Executive Order Against Wind Energy
Trump, a long-time critic of wind power, signed an executive order on the first day of his second term halting all federal wind energy permits. He repeated his belief that the industry is a scam, saying, “The whole thing is a con job.”
Trump revisited a frequently criticized theory during his comments, that the noise from offshore wind turbines is causing whale deaths.
“It’s driving [whales] loco, it’s driving them crazy,” said president, pointing to rising whale fatalities off the coast of Massachusetts and suggesting a link to recently built wind farms.
However, the National Marine Fisheries Service, a division of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), has stated otherwise. According to the agency, “At this point, there is no scientific evidence that noise resulting from offshore wind site characterization surveys could potentially cause whale deaths. There are no known links between large whale deaths and ongoing offshore wind activities.”
Are Donald Trump’s Claims About Wind Energy True?
Despite Trump’s assertion that “Windmills will not come, it’s not going to happen in the United States,” data from the U.S. Geological Survey shows there are already more than 70,800 wind turbines across the country.
Moreover, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, wind power is currently the largest renewable energy source in the US, supplying over 10 percent of the nation’s electricity.
Trump further claimed that turbines “rust and rot in eight years” and lamented difficulties in decommissioning them: “You can’t really turn them off, you can’t bury them. They won’t let you bury the propellers.”
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