September 18, 2012
California

Donald Trump: ‘Wind turbines have destroyed Palm Springs’

Written by Liz Kelly Nelson | The Desert Sun | www.mydesert.com 17 September 2012

Don’t count Donald Trump among fans of wind power. On Monday, the developer and “Apprentice” host went on the record – Twitter – with his thoughts about the wind turbines that line the roads leading to Palm Springs.

“Ugly wind turbines have destroyed the entrance to Palm Springs, CA,” he tweeted. “These mon[s]trosities are ruining landscapes all over the globe—expensive & bad electric.”

And he meant it. In a follow-up interview with The Desert Sun, Trump confirmed his anti-wind power stance.

“[It’s] like driving into a sad person’s version of Disneyland,” he said. “And of course [the turbines] kill all the birds in the area. A friend of mine said that an area that used to be so beautiful is now strewn with rusting hulks.”

The reaction to Trump’s tweet was swift – both on Twitter and in the Coachella Valley.

“Tell him to look again at night. Also, tell him that only HE can afford the huge power bills we would have without them,” wrote David Ross on Facebook. “There are many uglier things that could be there.”

But, Trump says he’s a fan of alternative energy sources – just not wind power. It’s on his mind, he says, because he’s fighting a wind farm project in Scotland.

“I love hydropower, but that wouldn’t pertain to Palm Springs,” he said.

Fred Bell, chief operating officer of Noble & Company LLC, a renewable energy firm based in Palm Desert, says he respects Trump’s business acumen, but disagrees with his comments.

“We have two resources here in Palm Springs,” said Bell. “Wind and tremendous solar resources. Both are unequalled anywhere else in the United States. To not harvest those in a responsible manner and take advantage of the low cost of power would be irresponsible to the environment.”

Matthew Reader, reacting on Facebook, voiced an opinion shared by many MyDesert Facebook commenters: “His opinion on any aesthetics is completely negated on the basis of his hair.”

URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2012/09/18/donald-trump-wind-turbines-have-destroyed-palm-springs/