Donald Trump has lost a Supreme Court fight against an offshore windfarm project near one of his Scottish golf courses.
Scottish Government ministers approved proposals for an 11-turbine scheme off the Aberdeenshire coast in 2013.
Mr Trump, president of the Trump Organisation, says the wind farm will spoil the view from his luxury golf links at the Menie Estate.
He argued that ministers were wrong to give the project the green light.
The Supreme Court analysed the case at a hearing in London in October after the businessman had twice lost fights in Scottish courts.
A panel of Supreme Court justices has now ruled against Mr Trump.
Mr Trump has said he would pull the plug on plans to further develop the resort near Balmedie if the wind farm project went ahead.
The European Offshore Wind Deployment Centre (EOWDC) project is a joint venture by Vattenfall Wind Power and Aberdeen Renewable Energy Group, which says the turbines would yield enough electricity to power 68,000 UK households over a year.
A panel of five Supreme Court justices heard that Trump International Golf Club Scotland had developed a golf resort at the Menie Estate and Menie Links in Balmedie, Aberdeenshire.
In 2011, Aberdeen Offshore Wind Farm applied for permission to create and run the European Offshore Wind Deployment Centre in Aberdeen Bay.
The plan was to build up to 11 wind turbines.
Justices were told that the wind farm would be seen by people at the resort.
Trump International Golf Club Scotland opposed the plan.
But in March 2013, Scottish ministers gave the go-ahead to development.
Trump International Golf Club Scotland then mounted unsuccessful challenges against the decision in Scottish courts before appealing to the Supreme Court.
Lawyers for Mr Trump argued that Scottish ministers had “no power” under legislation.
But Supreme Court justices disagreed and unanimously dismissed Mr Trump’s appeal.
Scottish Energy Minister Fergus Ewing said: “I am pleased that the Supreme Court has unanimously found in our favour.
“The proposed European Offshore Wind Deployment Centre is an important project for Aberdeen and north-east Scotland.
“It will give the industry the ability to test and demonstrate new technologies to enable costs to be further reduced.
“Aberdeen is already of global importance for hydrocarbons and this wind deployment centre cements its role in renewable offshore development, further positioning Aberdeen as the energy capital of Europe and a world energy centre.”
A Trump Organization spokesman said: “This is an extremely unfortunate verdict for the residents of Aberdeen and anyone who cares about Scotland’s economic future.
“The EOWDC will completely destroy the bucolic Aberdeen Bay and cast a terrible shadow upon the future of tourism for the area.
“History will judge those involved unfavorably and the outcome demonstrates the foolish, small minded and parochial mentality which dominates the current Scottish Government’s dangerous experiment with wind energy.
“While the EOWDC’s ‘leadership’ have stated the project will proceed, the onerous planning conditions remain unpurified and it is common knowledge that there is no funding for a technology that is now many years obsolete. With oil prices plummeting and the lack of money for vital projects like the AWPR, the EOWDC will never be built and comments that suggest otherwise are nothing more than delusional posturing.
“We will evaluate the Court’s decision and continue to fight this proposal on every possible front.”
However, Aberdeen city Council Leader Councillor Jenny Laing welcomed the outcome.
She said: “We welcome the Supreme Court ruling regarding the EOWDC which is a project with enormous potential for Aberdeen and the wider north-east region.
“Both Aberdeen City and Aberdeenshire councils are today approving a Regional Economic Strategy which outlines a ‘Renaissance’ scenario for the local economy in the next 20 years, in which we maximise the recovery of remaining oil and gas reserves from the UK Continental Shelf while diversifying into other sectors including renewables, tourism, food and drink, agriculture and life sciences.
“The EOWDC is an example of the type of development that could help to deliver significant and long-term economic benefits to the region and help to cement Aberdeen’s reputation as a global energy city and a world-leading centre for innovation. This is why the EOWDC has been a long-standing priority for AREG and this council.”
Andy Paine, project director for AOWFL, added: “This is another significant step forward for the EOWDC. It affirms the scheme’s potential to position Scotland, and particularly the North-east, as a centre of innovative offshore wind power. The project partners remain committed to seeing the EOWDC come to fruition and delivering long-term economic benefits to the region.”
