This Trump donor has snapped up a slice of Scotland’s wind

A Scottish wind farm has been bought by a company whose founder and major shareholder is a right-wing US media mogul who has donated to Donald Trump.

In March, an arm of Liberty Global bought the 20-turbine Chirmorie project, which is currently being built near the village of Barrhill in South Ayrshire and could power 78,000 homes.

Liberty’s founder is the billionaire John Malone, who remains a significant shareholder and gave $250,000 to Trump’s inauguration for his first term in 2017. He has also financially supported other Republican politicians.

Critics said there was a “bitter irony” in the deal which allowed a donor to Trump – who has railed against wind turbines in Scotland – to “rake in profits” from Scottish renewables while local people “miss out”.

As we have reported throughout this year, some communities on the frontline of Scotland’s renewable energy boom feel they are being short changed by large, disruptive wind projects on their doorsteps while multinationals and landowners cash in.

Just one per cent of Scotland’s onshore wind capacity is currently owned by communities, while only a fraction is owned by local private firms. Community benefit payments – made to compensate locals for the impacts wind farms have on the areas that host them – are also considered "woefully low" by some campaigners.

Malone made his fortune in cable television and is one of the largest landowners in the US. Until 2025 he was an influential board member at Warner Bros Discovery, the media conglomerate which owns news channel CNN, and remains the company's chair emeritus.

Malone has claimed there is an “embedded” left-leaning “anti-Trump” bias at CNN and praised the approach of right-wing network Fox News. 

A self-described “libertarian”, Malone has previously been on the board of the Cato Institute, a think tank accused by Greenpeace of “disputing the science behind global warming and questioning the rationale for taking action”.

While he donated to Trump in his first term, Malone later said he would vote for another New York billionaire at the 2020 election, Mike Bloomberg, because Trump had brought “chaos”.

As well as Chirmorie, egg Power – the clean energy arm of Liberty Global – owns three planned solar farms in England. Liberty Global also owns a 50 per cent stake in the telecommunications company, Virgin Media O2.

“While distant private interests rake in the profits, people in Scotland are short changed.” – Liam Hainey, Our Power

Liam Hainey, is a spokesperson for the Our Power campaign which argues for more “community, municipal and public ownership” of Scotland’s renewables.

“This is a prime example of a fundamental flaw in the energy system; while distant private interests rake in the profits, people in Scotland are short changed,” Hainey told The Ferret.

He added: “There’s a bitter irony in the fact that a [former] ally of Trump, who has spent decades railing against renewables in Scotland and pedalling climate denialism, can snap up a wind farm to extract the profits for himself while communities here are denied that opportunity and continue to miss out.

“It’s time for the Scottish Government to step in and ensure that more of the money made from our renewable energy boom delivers for communities across the country and not just distant shareholders.”

The Scottish Greens MSP and energy spokesperson, Kristopher Leask, said the deal raises “important questions we need to ask about our economy".

They included: "Who owns it? Who benefits from it? And where do profits end up?", Leask said.

“Scotland cannot continue down the same path of unchecked foreign direct investment or multinational ownership of our economy and our assets, we must move towards a transparent system where local ownership and the needs of the local community are put first.”

A Liberty Global spokesperson said: “John Malone is a shareholder, not the owner, of Liberty Global, a publicly-listed company traded on Nasdaq. He is also a long-standing conservationist who has supported numerous initiatives to preserve land and natural habitats in the United States for future generations.

“After years of delays following the granting of planning permission in 2018, Liberty Global has broken the deadlock on the Chirmorie Wind Farm project, commencing construction within months of acquiring the development rights.

“We will invest tens of millions of pounds in the project, working with local suppliers and construction companies to deliver long-term economic and environmental benefits. In addition, approximately £15 million will be contributed to a community fund over the lifetime of the wind farm.”

This story was updated at 09:15 on 3 July 2026 to add a comment from Liberty Global. It was updated again at 10:02 to reflect that John Malone is a significant rather than controlling shareholder in Liberty Global.