Wind Turbine Payback in Broadwater County, MT
Wind turbine payback in Broadwater 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 Broadwater County, MT averages 3.97 m/s (8.9 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 6,428 kWh a year, worth $908 at MT's 14.13¢/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 Broadwater County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Broadwater County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 8.2 m/s at the hub against 3.97 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,183 kWh a year here against the turbine's 643, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 78¢/kWh, 5.5 times what MT pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 8.2 m/s instead of 3.97. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of MT
Broadwater County is the 2,080th windiest of 3,144 US counties at turbine height; the national middle is 4.79 m/s. The windiest in MT is Fallon County at 6.64 m/s, payback 29 years.
Month by month in Broadwater County
January is the strongest month here, at 4.56 m/s and about 824 kWh. August is the weakest, 3.19 m/s and 272 kWh, so the best month makes 3.0 times the worst. November to March brings in 56% of the year's output in Broadwater County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 4.56 m/s | 824 kWh | $116 |
| February | 4.34 m/s | 644 kWh | $91 |
| March | 4.42 m/s | 751 kWh | $106 |
| April | 4.10 m/s | 583 kWh | $82 |
| May | 3.68 m/s | 433 kWh | $61 |
| June | 3.55 m/s | 372 kWh | $53 |
| July | 3.20 m/s | 274 kWh | $39 |
| August | 3.19 m/s | 272 kWh | $38 |
| September | 3.53 m/s | 366 kWh | $52 |
| October | 4.14 m/s | 622 kWh | $88 |
| November | 4.48 m/s | 760 kWh | $107 |
| December | 4.46 m/s | 772 kWh | $109 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Broadwater County averages 2.81 m/s; at 50 m it is 4.67 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.316, typical of rough, sheltered ground: trees or buildings slow the low wind a lot. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 4,313 to 10,382 kWh a year, 141% 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 | 3.5 m/s | 4,313 kWh | over 100 years |
| 30 m | 3.97 m/s | 6,447 kWh | over 100 years |
| 40 m | 4.35 m/s | 8,472 kWh | 84 years |
| 50 m | 4.67 m/s | 10,382 kWh | 68 years |
Counties around Broadwater County
4 of the 6 closest counties are windier at turbine height; the windiest, Cascade County, averages 5.69 m/s.
- Jefferson County, MT: 4.03 m/s, 6,729 kWh, payback over 100 years (30 mi)
- Meagher County, MT: 4.63 m/s, 10,132 kWh, payback 70 years (33 mi)
- Gallatin County, MT: 4.18 m/s, 7,515 kWh, payback 94 years (58 mi)
- Silver Bow County, MT: 3.78 m/s, 5,523 kWh, payback over 100 years (63 mi)
- Cascade County, MT: 5.69 m/s, 17,419 kWh, payback 41 years (69 mi)
- Lewis and Clark County, MT: 3.93 m/s, 6,231 kWh, payback over 100 years (69 mi)
Sun versus wind in Broadwater County
Broadwater County gets 4.05 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,183 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 643. 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.