Wind Turbine Payback in Adams County, NE
Wind turbine payback in Adams County
No. The turbine wears out before it pays for itself.
At 30 m, the height a home turbine tower usually reaches, the wind in Adams County, NE averages 6.56 m/s (14.7 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 23,849 kWh a year, worth $3,081 at NE's 12.92¢/kWh. Against an installed cost of about $100,000, that is a payback of 33 years, and the turbine is built to last about 20.
What to do in Adams County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Adams County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 8.8 m/s at the hub against 6.56 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,299 kWh a year here against the turbine's 2,385, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 21¢/kWh, 1.6 times what NE pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 8.8 m/s instead of 6.56. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of NE
Adams County is the 139th windiest of 3,144 US counties at turbine height; the national middle is 4.79 m/s. The windiest in NE is Cherry County at 6.83 m/s, payback 30 years.
Month by month in Adams County
April is the strongest month here, at 7.44 m/s and about 2,475 kWh. August is the weakest, 5.49 m/s and 1,354 kWh, so the best month makes 1.8 times the worst. November to March brings in 44% of the year's output in Adams County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 6.64 m/s | 2,076 kWh | $268 |
| February | 6.71 m/s | 1,915 kWh | $247 |
| March | 7.04 m/s | 2,324 kWh | $300 |
| April | 7.44 m/s | 2,475 kWh | $320 |
| May | 6.71 m/s | 2,121 kWh | $274 |
| June | 6.38 m/s | 1,852 kWh | $239 |
| July | 5.57 m/s | 1,403 kWh | $181 |
| August | 5.49 m/s | 1,354 kWh | $175 |
| September | 6.58 m/s | 1,972 kWh | $255 |
| October | 6.81 m/s | 2,182 kWh | $282 |
| November | 6.81 m/s | 2,111 kWh | $273 |
| December | 6.59 m/s | 2,043 kWh | $264 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Adams County averages 5.17 m/s; at 50 m it is 7.33 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.217, typical of ordinary open country. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 19,766 to 29,368 kWh a year, 49% more, before counting the extra cost of the taller tower. Why tower height decides it explains the shear behind these numbers.
| Hub height | Average wind | Output | Payback |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20 m | 6.01 m/s | 19,766 kWh | 39 years |
| 30 m | 6.56 m/s | 23,855 kWh | 32 years |
| 40 m | 6.98 m/s | 26,925 kWh | 29 years |
| 50 m | 7.33 m/s | 29,368 kWh | 26 years |
Counties around Adams County
None of the 6 closest counties is windier than Adams County.
- Webster County, NE: 6.38 m/s, 22,521 kWh, payback 34 years (23 mi)
- Kearney County, NE: 6.56 m/s, 23,849 kWh, payback 33 years (24 mi)
- Clay County, NE: 6.55 m/s, 23,775 kWh, payback 33 years (24 mi)
- Hall County, NE: 6.51 m/s, 23,481 kWh, payback 33 years (24 mi)
- Nuckolls County, NE: 6.4 m/s, 22,669 kWh, payback 34 years (34 mi)
- Franklin County, NE: 6.38 m/s, 22,521 kWh, payback 34 years (34 mi)
Sun versus wind in Adams County
Adams County gets 4.45 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,299 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 2,385. This is one of the rare places where a kilowatt of turbine out-produces a kilowatt of panels, by 1.8 times. Panel output assumes an 80% system performance ratio. Wind or solar runs the same comparison for every county.
How this is worked out
Wind is NASA's Power climate record, the 2001-2025 average at 10 m and 50 m for the county's centre, carried to 30 m with this county's own measured wind shear and spread into hours with a Rayleigh distribution. The turbine is a generic 10 kW, 7 m rotor machine with 10% losses. Cost is $10,000 per kW installed with no tax credit, because the federal one ended in 2025. One county-centre number cannot see your hilltop or your tree line, so treat it as the starting point for a site survey, not a substitute. The full method and its weak spots are in how the numbers are made.