A geotechnical investigation is underway in Aberdeen Bay at the site of the up-to-100MW European Offshore Wind Deployment Centre (EOWDC) which now hopes to be up and running in 2018, said project company Aberdeen Offshore Wind Farm Limited (AOWFL).

The project team said the survey work – to be carried out at each of the EOWDC’s 11 planned turbine locations by specialist contractor Fugro – “reaffirms its commitment” to the development ahead of a planned final investment decision later this year.

Swedish utility Vattenfall, which is leading the project, originally hoped to see first power being exported from the EOWDC at the end of 2015, allowing it to act as a test bed for the next generation of offshore wind turbines destined for European waters.

But Trump bitterly opposed the development at every legal step, claiming it will spoil the view from his luxury golf resort on the nearby shoreline.

The US tycoon and would-be Republican candidate in December 2015 lost his most recent challenge against Scottish government consent for the EOWDC, when his appeal for a judicial review was rejected by the UK’s highest court.

The project has also faced challenges to its onshore works, but despite the delay – which has seen many of the turbine models the EOWDC originally hoped to host tested elsewhere in Europe – Vattenfall continues to back the case for the site.

Andy Paine, head of UK offshore wind development for Vattenfall and project director for AOWFL, told Recharge last year that the EOWDC is still relevant, although its emphasis may shift to wider technology and systems in the offshore wind arena and fields such as O&M.

Announcing the start of work today Paine said: “The pioneering EOWDC will help establish the northeast [of Scotland] as a global centre of innovation for the offshore wind industry. It is through test and demonstration of next generation products and services that offshore wind will become a low cost sector.”

Paine added: “The preparatory works being carried out helps keep the project on schedule ahead of an investment decision later this year and first power in 2018. The partners are currently working on the basis of fully financing the more than £230m ($326.6m) scheme and want to see the project come to fruition.”

Trump has previously indicated that if he runs out of legal road in the UK he may seek to take his legal fight to the European courts, although it is not immediately clear how viable this threat is.