Wind Turbine Payback in Bowman County, ND
Wind turbine payback in Bowman 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 Bowman County, ND averages 6.79 m/s (15.2 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 25,529 kWh a year, worth $3,181 at ND's 12.46¢/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 Bowman County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Bowman County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 9.1 m/s at the hub against 6.79 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,194 kWh a year here against the turbine's 2,553, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 20¢/kWh, 1.6 times what ND pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 9.1 m/s instead of 6.79. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of ND
Bowman County is the 33rd windiest of 3,144 US counties at turbine height; the national middle is 4.79 m/s. It is the windiest county in ND.
Month by month in Bowman County
January is the strongest month here, at 7.60 m/s and about 2,650 kWh. July is the weakest, 5.79 m/s and 1,544 kWh, so the best month makes 1.7 times the worst. November to March brings in 47% of the year's output in Bowman County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 7.60 m/s | 2,650 kWh | $330 |
| February | 6.88 m/s | 2,006 kWh | $250 |
| March | 7.03 m/s | 2,315 kWh | $288 |
| April | 6.89 m/s | 2,160 kWh | $269 |
| May | 6.68 m/s | 2,099 kWh | $262 |
| June | 6.26 m/s | 1,780 kWh | $222 |
| July | 5.79 m/s | 1,544 kWh | $192 |
| August | 5.93 m/s | 1,629 kWh | $203 |
| September | 6.49 m/s | 1,917 kWh | $239 |
| October | 7.19 m/s | 2,413 kWh | $301 |
| November | 7.30 m/s | 2,397 kWh | $299 |
| December | 7.36 m/s | 2,514 kWh | $313 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Bowman County averages 5.44 m/s; at 50 m it is 7.52 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.201, typical of ordinary open country. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 21,596 to 30,672 kWh a year, 42% 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 | 6.26 m/s | 21,596 kWh | 37 years |
| 30 m | 6.79 m/s | 25,502 kWh | 32 years |
| 40 m | 7.19 m/s | 28,392 kWh | 28 years |
| 50 m | 7.52 m/s | 30,672 kWh | 26 years |
Counties around Bowman County
None of the 6 closest counties is windier than Bowman County.
- Slope County, ND: 6.78 m/s, 25,457 kWh, payback 32 years (23 mi)
- Harding County, SD: 6.62 m/s, 24,289 kWh, payback 28 years (36 mi)
- Fallon County, MT: 6.64 m/s, 24,436 kWh, payback 29 years (45 mi)
- Adams County, ND: 6.73 m/s, 25,093 kWh, payback 32 years (47 mi)
- Hettinger County, ND: 6.78 m/s, 25,457 kWh, payback 32 years (55 mi)
- Golden Valley County, ND: 6.68 m/s, 24,728 kWh, payback 33 years (59 mi)
Sun versus wind in Bowman County
Bowman County gets 4.09 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,194 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 2,553. This is one of the rare places where a kilowatt of turbine out-produces a kilowatt of panels, by 2.1 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.