Trump-style war on windmills spreads across Europe

“If mis- and disinformation stand in the way, I think we have a serious problem,” WindEurope spokesperson Christoph Zipf told POLITICO. “It’s not about the wind industry per se. It’s about making sure that we have energy that is not stuck in the Strait of Hormuz, but actually produced here in Europe.”

An ecosystem of activists, politicians, fringe media and online communities are spreading claims that wind turbines trigger blackouts, kill wildlife, cause cancer and poison drinking water, the report, produced by the U.K.-based research firm CASM Technology, found.

The claims were spread across more than 500 accounts on six social media platforms, producing tens of thousands of anti-wind posts over the last two years.

Swedish accounts generated the highest volume of anti-wind posts, according to the report, followed by France, Norway, Finland, the United Kingdom and Germany. While researchers cautioned the country ranking was partly shaped by sampling and data-access limits, they said the Nordics clearly emerged as a major center of anti-wind activity.

The findings land at a critical moment for Europe. As the war in Iran exposes Europe’s vulnerability to fossil fuel shocks and supply disruptions, the EU is pushing electrification and renewables harder than ever to reduce dependence on imported fossil fuels.

They also come as U.S. President Donald Trump ramps up his war on wind energy, which he has called “big ugly windmills,” the “scam of the century,” and an energy source for “stupid people.” His government is blocking new projects and spending billions in federal funds to cancel projects already in development.