Niall
My reading of the news is that the planned turbines are not going to be "miles out to sea" but rather one mile. That's four golf holes of moderate length (by today's standards) away from the shore. As the turbines are going to be in excess of 600 feet high they will dominate the visuals from the property out towards the sea, and not in a particularly attractive way. As I understand it, Trump claims that Salmond "promised" him that any turbines would be located at least ten miles out to sea, and the whole kerfuffle is based on the breaking of that promise. I don't remember seeing Salmond reply (yet) to Trump's accusations, which if they are true, could be very damaging to Alex and the SNP.
As for the projected economic impacts, there is no way that the golf course could provide anything more than a sop to the Aberdeen economy. The important thing, from both Trump's and Salmond's point of view was the real estate compenent. For one thing, the area has no world class hotel, despite having large numbers of high spending businesspeople visiting the city regularly. For another thing, the area north of Aberdeen city is deprived and lacks adequate transportation. Completed as planned Trump's development could help re-vitalize the area from the Don to Peterhead (much of which, incidentally, falls within Salmond's parliamentary constituency).
In the long run. the Donald could walk away from the project in an instance, if he so wished (and he would so wish if there were no chance to profitably build his hotel and the adjacent residential real estate). He'd leave behind an extremely good golf course (I've walked the property, and it is at least as good as any of the best courses built in Scotland (or even coastal Oregon....) over the past 10-15 years) that could exist, but not lavishly. Overall and IMHO, Trump doesn't need the project for the potential money to be made, but more for the street cred that it might bring to him in the twilight of his career. He can write off the relatively small number of millions of dollars he has spent so far, with only losing a small bit of face. Compared to some of his earlier career finanical disasters, this one is small beer. If he's smart (and I tend to agree with Pat that he is) he'll know that it is Salmond who really needs the project and will be left swaying in the wind if it all goes down the swanee, as it very much seems it might. Regardless, it will be interesting!