Wind Turbine Payback in Antelope County, NE
Wind turbine payback in Antelope 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 Antelope County, NE averages 6.71 m/s (15 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 24,947 kWh a year, worth $3,223 at NE's 12.92¢/kWh. Against an installed cost of about $100,000, that is a payback of 31 years, and the turbine is built to last about 20.
What to do in Antelope County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Antelope County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 8.8 m/s at the hub against 6.71 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,244 kWh a year here against the turbine's 2,495, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 20¢/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 6.71. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of NE
Antelope County is the 59th 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 Antelope County
April is the strongest month here, at 7.40 m/s and about 2,453 kWh. August is the weakest, 5.54 m/s and 1,388 kWh, so the best month makes 1.8 times the worst. November to March brings in 46% of the year's output in Antelope County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 7.11 m/s | 2,365 kWh | $306 |
| February | 7.03 m/s | 2,092 kWh | $270 |
| March | 7.15 m/s | 2,386 kWh | $308 |
| April | 7.40 m/s | 2,453 kWh | $317 |
| May | 6.79 m/s | 2,168 kWh | $280 |
| June | 6.22 m/s | 1,751 kWh | $226 |
| July | 5.55 m/s | 1,394 kWh | $180 |
| August | 5.54 m/s | 1,388 kWh | $179 |
| September | 6.73 m/s | 2,061 kWh | $266 |
| October | 7.01 m/s | 2,305 kWh | $298 |
| November | 7.08 m/s | 2,268 kWh | $293 |
| December | 6.98 m/s | 2,283 kWh | $295 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Antelope County averages 5.31 m/s; at 50 m it is 7.48 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.213, typical of ordinary open country. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 20,844 to 30,400 kWh a year, 46% 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 | 6.15 m/s | 20,844 kWh | 37 years |
| 30 m | 6.71 m/s | 24,939 kWh | 31 years |
| 40 m | 7.13 m/s | 27,987 kWh | 28 years |
| 50 m | 7.48 m/s | 30,400 kWh | 26 years |
Counties around Antelope County
1 of the 6 closest counties is windier at turbine height; the windiest, Wheeler County, averages 6.73 m/s.
- Pierce County, NE: 6.66 m/s, 24,582 kWh, payback 32 years (24 mi)
- Wheeler County, NE: 6.73 m/s, 25,093 kWh, payback 31 years (30 mi)
- Madison County, NE: 6.67 m/s, 24,655 kWh, payback 31 years (30 mi)
- Knox County, NE: 6.62 m/s, 24,289 kWh, payback 32 years (32 mi)
- Boone County, NE: 6.55 m/s, 23,775 kWh, payback 33 years (33 mi)
- Holt County, NE: 6.68 m/s, 24,728 kWh, payback 31 years (42 mi)
Sun versus wind in Antelope County
Antelope County gets 4.26 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,244 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 2,495. This is one of the rare places where a kilowatt of turbine out-produces a kilowatt of panels, by 2.0 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.