Wind Turbine Payback in Bernalillo County, NM
Wind turbine payback in Bernalillo 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 Bernalillo County, NM averages 4.45 m/s (10 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 9,041 kWh a year, worth $1,387 at NM's 15.34¢/kWh. Against an installed cost of about $100,000, that is a payback of 72 years, and the turbine is built to last about 20.
What to do in Bernalillo County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Bernalillo County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 7.8 m/s at the hub against 4.45 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,615 kWh a year here against the turbine's 904, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 55¢/kWh, 3.6 times what NM pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 7.8 m/s instead of 4.45. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of NM
Bernalillo County is the 1,778th windiest of 3,144 US counties at turbine height; the national middle is 4.79 m/s. The windiest in NM is Union County at 6.75 m/s, payback 26 years.
Month by month in Bernalillo County
April is the strongest month here, at 5.70 m/s and about 1,436 kWh. August is the weakest, 3.41 m/s and 338 kWh, so the best month makes 4.2 times the worst. November to March brings in 43% of the year's output in Bernalillo County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 4.28 m/s | 687 kWh | $105 |
| February | 4.89 m/s | 907 kWh | $139 |
| March | 5.18 m/s | 1,172 kWh | $180 |
| April | 5.70 m/s | 1,436 kWh | $220 |
| May | 5.19 m/s | 1,177 kWh | $181 |
| June | 4.66 m/s | 850 kWh | $130 |
| July | 3.55 m/s | 385 kWh | $59 |
| August | 3.41 m/s | 338 kWh | $52 |
| September | 3.96 m/s | 523 kWh | $80 |
| October | 4.27 m/s | 683 kWh | $105 |
| November | 4.23 m/s | 640 kWh | $98 |
| December | 4.12 m/s | 609 kWh | $93 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Bernalillo County averages 3.41 m/s; at 50 m it is 5.04 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.243, typical of ordinary open country. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 6,749 to 12,805 kWh a year, 90% 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 | 4.03 m/s | 6,749 kWh | 97 years |
| 30 m | 4.45 m/s | 9,051 kWh | 72 years |
| 40 m | 4.77 m/s | 11,044 kWh | 59 years |
| 50 m | 5.04 m/s | 12,805 kWh | 51 years |
Counties around Bernalillo County
5 of the 6 closest counties are windier at turbine height; the windiest, Torrance County, averages 6.4 m/s.
- Valencia County, NM: 4.65 m/s, 10,257 kWh, payback 64 years (25 mi)
- Sandoval County, NM: 5 m/s, 12,535 kWh, payback 52 years (45 mi)
- Santa Fe County, NM: 4.59 m/s, 9,885 kWh, payback 66 years (51 mi)
- Torrance County, NM: 6.4 m/s, 22,669 kWh, payback 29 years (56 mi)
- Los Alamos County, NM: 4.28 m/s, 8,064 kWh, payback 81 years (60 mi)
- Socorro County, NM: 5.09 m/s, 13,146 kWh, payback 50 years (75 mi)
Sun versus wind in Bernalillo County
Bernalillo County gets 5.53 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,615 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 904. Kilowatt for kilowatt, panels make 1.8 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.