Wind Turbine Payback in Apache County, AZ
Wind turbine payback in Apache 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 Apache County, AZ averages 5.25 m/s (11.7 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 14,256 kWh a year, worth $2,190 at AZ's 15.36¢/kWh. Against an installed cost of about $100,000, that is a payback of 46 years, and the turbine is built to last about 20.
What to do in Apache County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Apache County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 7.8 m/s at the hub against 5.25 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,632 kWh a year here against the turbine's 1,426, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 35¢/kWh, 2.3 times what AZ pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 7.8 m/s instead of 5.25. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of AZ
Apache County is the 1,353rd windiest of 3,144 US counties at turbine height; the national middle is 4.79 m/s. It is the windiest county in AZ.
Month by month in Apache County
April is the strongest month here, at 6.57 m/s and about 1,963 kWh. August is the weakest, 3.86 m/s and 500 kWh, so the best month makes 3.9 times the worst. November to March brings in 45% of the year's output in Apache County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 5.13 m/s | 1,138 kWh | $175 |
| February | 5.71 m/s | 1,346 kWh | $207 |
| March | 5.94 m/s | 1,636 kWh | $251 |
| April | 6.57 m/s | 1,963 kWh | $302 |
| May | 5.89 m/s | 1,602 kWh | $246 |
| June | 5.58 m/s | 1,367 kWh | $210 |
| July | 4.07 m/s | 590 kWh | $91 |
| August | 3.86 m/s | 500 kWh | $77 |
| September | 4.65 m/s | 845 kWh | $130 |
| October | 5.25 m/s | 1,212 kWh | $186 |
| November | 5.40 m/s | 1,256 kWh | $193 |
| December | 5.10 m/s | 1,123 kWh | $172 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Apache County averages 4.12 m/s; at 50 m it is 5.88 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.221, typical of ordinary open country. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 11,225 to 18,816 kWh a year, 68% 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 | 4.8 m/s | 11,225 kWh | 58 years |
| 30 m | 5.25 m/s | 14,272 kWh | 46 years |
| 40 m | 5.6 m/s | 16,740 kWh | 39 years |
| 50 m | 5.88 m/s | 18,816 kWh | 35 years |
Counties around Apache County
3 of the 6 closest counties are windier at turbine height; the windiest, Cibola County, averages 5.8 m/s.
- Navajo County, AZ: 4.66 m/s, 10,320 kWh, payback 63 years (47 mi)
- McKinley County, NM: 5.51 m/s, 16,109 kWh, payback 41 years (71 mi)
- Cibola County, NM: 5.8 m/s, 18,226 kWh, payback 36 years (90 mi)
- San Juan County, NM: 4.56 m/s, 9,702 kWh, payback 67 years (102 mi)
- Catron County, NM: 5.45 m/s, 15,677 kWh, payback 42 years (120 mi)
- Coconino County, AZ: 4.27 m/s, 8,008 kWh, payback 81 years (132 mi)
Sun versus wind in Apache County
Apache County gets 5.59 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,632 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 1,426. Kilowatt for kilowatt, panels make 1.1 times as much here as the turbine. 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.