Wind Turbine Payback in Big Horn County, WY
Wind turbine payback in Big Horn 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 Big Horn County, WY averages 4.34 m/s (9.7 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 8,403 kWh a year, worth $1,177 at WY's 14.01¢/kWh. Against an installed cost of about $100,000, that is a payback of 85 years, and the turbine is built to last about 20.
What to do in Big Horn County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Big Horn County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 8.3 m/s at the hub against 4.34 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,276 kWh a year here against the turbine's 840, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 60¢/kWh, 4.2 times what WY pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 8.3 m/s instead of 4.34. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of WY
Big Horn County is the 1,867th windiest of 3,144 US counties at turbine height; the national middle is 4.79 m/s. The windiest in WY is Albany County at 7.32 m/s, payback 24 years.
Month by month in Big Horn County
April is the strongest month here, at 4.73 m/s and about 883 kWh. August is the weakest, 3.90 m/s and 516 kWh, so the best month makes 1.7 times the worst. November to March brings in 45% of the year's output in Big Horn County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 4.49 m/s | 786 kWh | $110 |
| February | 4.41 m/s | 674 kWh | $94 |
| March | 4.61 m/s | 850 kWh | $119 |
| April | 4.73 m/s | 883 kWh | $124 |
| May | 4.43 m/s | 759 kWh | $106 |
| June | 4.17 m/s | 615 kWh | $86 |
| July | 3.97 m/s | 546 kWh | $76 |
| August | 3.90 m/s | 516 kWh | $72 |
| September | 4.14 m/s | 600 kWh | $84 |
| October | 4.40 m/s | 741 kWh | $104 |
| November | 4.44 m/s | 739 kWh | $104 |
| December | 4.44 m/s | 764 kWh | $107 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Big Horn County averages 3.38 m/s; at 50 m it is 4.88 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.228, typical of ordinary open country. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 6,378 to 11,734 kWh a year, 84% 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 | 3.96 m/s | 6,378 kWh | over 100 years |
| 30 m | 4.34 m/s | 8,423 kWh | 85 years |
| 40 m | 4.64 m/s | 10,182 kWh | 70 years |
| 50 m | 4.88 m/s | 11,734 kWh | 61 years |
Counties around Big Horn County
6 of the 6 closest counties are windier at turbine height; the windiest, Sheridan County, averages 5.63 m/s.
- Washakie County, WY: 4.36 m/s, 8,517 kWh, payback 84 years (47 mi)
- Sheridan County, WY: 5.63 m/s, 16,980 kWh, payback 42 years (58 mi)
- Hot Springs County, WY: 4.66 m/s, 10,320 kWh, payback 69 years (60 mi)
- Big Horn County, MT: 5.44 m/s, 15,605 kWh, payback 45 years (65 mi)
- Carbon County, MT: 4.41 m/s, 8,807 kWh, payback 80 years (70 mi)
- Johnson County, WY: 4.98 m/s, 12,400 kWh, payback 58 years (77 mi)
Sun versus wind in Big Horn County
Big Horn County gets 4.37 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,276 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 840. Kilowatt for kilowatt, panels make 1.5 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.