Wind Turbine Payback in Baker County, OR
Wind turbine payback in Baker 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 Baker County, OR averages 3.78 m/s (8.5 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 5,523 kWh a year, worth $854 at OR's 15.46¢/kWh. Against an installed cost of about $100,000, that is a payback of over 100 years, and the turbine is built to last about 20.
What to do in Baker County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Baker County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 7.8 m/s at the hub against 3.78 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,288 kWh a year here against the turbine's 552, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 91¢/kWh, 5.9 times what OR pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 7.8 m/s instead of 3.78. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of OR
Baker County is the 2,219th windiest of 3,144 US counties at turbine height; the national middle is 4.79 m/s. The windiest in OR is Gilliam County at 5.48 m/s, payback 41 years.
Month by month in Baker County
April is the strongest month here, at 4.27 m/s and about 657 kWh. January is the weakest, 2.97 m/s and 214 kWh, so the best month makes 3.1 times the worst. November to March brings in 31% of the year's output in Baker County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 2.97 m/s | 214 kWh | $33 |
| February | 3.57 m/s | 354 kWh | $55 |
| March | 3.96 m/s | 543 kWh | $84 |
| April | 4.27 m/s | 657 kWh | $102 |
| May | 4.06 m/s | 586 kWh | $91 |
| June | 4.18 m/s | 617 kWh | $95 |
| July | 4.21 m/s | 654 kWh | $101 |
| August | 3.96 m/s | 543 kWh | $84 |
| September | 3.69 m/s | 420 kWh | $65 |
| October | 3.70 m/s | 437 kWh | $68 |
| November | 3.44 m/s | 336 kWh | $52 |
| December | 3.28 m/s | 297 kWh | $46 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Baker County averages 2.96 m/s; at 50 m it is 4.23 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.222, typical of ordinary open country. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 4,138 to 7,787 kWh a year, 88% 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 | 3.45 m/s | 4,138 kWh | over 100 years |
| 30 m | 3.78 m/s | 5,507 kWh | over 100 years |
| 40 m | 4.03 m/s | 6,706 kWh | 96 years |
| 50 m | 4.23 m/s | 7,787 kWh | 83 years |
Counties around Baker County
2 of the 6 closest counties are windier at turbine height; the windiest, Union County, averages 4.23 m/s.
- Union County, OR: 4.23 m/s, 7,787 kWh, payback 83 years (44 mi)
- Washington County, ID: 3.6 m/s, 4,736 kWh, payback over 100 years (47 mi)
- Adams County, ID: 2.96 m/s, 2,484 kWh, payback over 100 years (62 mi)
- Wallowa County, OR: 3.38 m/s, 3,868 kWh, payback over 100 years (66 mi)
- Grant County, OR: 3.34 m/s, 3,720 kWh, payback over 100 years (67 mi)
- Payette County, ID: 3.86 m/s, 5,894 kWh, payback over 100 years (67 mi)
Sun versus wind in Baker County
Baker County gets 4.41 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,288 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 552. Kilowatt for kilowatt, panels make 2.3 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.