Wind Turbine Payback in Buffalo County, SD
Wind turbine payback in Buffalo 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 Buffalo County, SD averages 6.35 m/s (14.2 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 22,299 kWh a year, worth $3,251 at SD's 14.58¢/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 Buffalo County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Buffalo County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 8.1 m/s at the hub against 6.35 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,221 kWh a year here against the turbine's 2,230, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 22¢/kWh, 1.5 times what SD pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 8.1 m/s instead of 6.35. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of SD
Buffalo County is the 402nd windiest of 3,144 US counties at turbine height; the national middle is 4.79 m/s. The windiest in SD is Todd County at 6.77 m/s, payback 27 years.
Month by month in Buffalo County
April is the strongest month here, at 6.92 m/s and about 2,174 kWh. July is the weakest, 5.65 m/s and 1,455 kWh, so the best month makes 1.5 times the worst. November to March brings in 42% of the year's output in Buffalo County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 6.43 m/s | 1,945 kWh | $284 |
| February | 6.25 m/s | 1,655 kWh | $241 |
| March | 6.61 m/s | 2,058 kWh | $300 |
| April | 6.92 m/s | 2,174 kWh | $317 |
| May | 6.60 m/s | 2,052 kWh | $299 |
| June | 6.07 m/s | 1,664 kWh | $243 |
| July | 5.65 m/s | 1,455 kWh | $212 |
| August | 5.73 m/s | 1,505 kWh | $219 |
| September | 6.50 m/s | 1,926 kWh | $281 |
| October | 6.74 m/s | 2,136 kWh | $311 |
| November | 6.45 m/s | 1,893 kWh | $276 |
| December | 6.31 m/s | 1,866 kWh | $272 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Buffalo County averages 5.04 m/s; at 50 m it is 7.07 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.210, typical of ordinary open country. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 18,465 to 27,542 kWh a year, 49% 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 | 5.83 m/s | 18,465 kWh | 37 years |
| 30 m | 6.35 m/s | 22,305 kWh | 31 years |
| 40 m | 6.75 m/s | 25,212 kWh | 27 years |
| 50 m | 7.07 m/s | 27,542 kWh | 25 years |
Counties around Buffalo County
4 of the 6 closest counties are windier at turbine height; the windiest, Brule County, averages 6.45 m/s.
- Brule County, SD: 6.45 m/s, 23,038 kWh, payback 30 years (22 mi)
- Jerauld County, SD: 6.38 m/s, 22,521 kWh, payback 31 years (29 mi)
- Lyman County, SD: 6.35 m/s, 22,299 kWh, payback 31 years (33 mi)
- Hand County, SD: 6.35 m/s, 22,299 kWh, payback 31 years (36 mi)
- Hyde County, SD: 6.4 m/s, 22,669 kWh, payback 30 years (37 mi)
- Aurora County, SD: 6.41 m/s, 22,743 kWh, payback 30 years (38 mi)
Sun versus wind in Buffalo County
Buffalo County gets 4.18 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,221 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 2,230. This is one of the rare places where a kilowatt of turbine out-produces a kilowatt of panels, by 1.8 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.