Wind Turbine Payback in Carson City, NV
Wind turbine payback in Carson City
No. The turbine wears out before it pays for itself.
At 30 m, the height a home turbine tower usually reaches, the wind in Carson City, NV averages 3.75 m/s (8.4 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 5,387 kWh a year, worth $720 at NV's 13.36¢/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 Carson City
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Carson City unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 8.6 m/s at the hub against 3.75 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,527 kWh a year here against the turbine's 539, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 93¢/kWh, 6.9 times what NV pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 8.6 m/s instead of 3.75. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of NV
Carson City is the 2,250th windiest of 3,144 US counties at turbine height; the national middle is 4.79 m/s. The windiest in NV is Nye County at 4.71 m/s, payback 70 years.
Month by month in Carson City
March is the strongest month here, at 4.33 m/s and about 711 kWh. August is the weakest, 3.00 m/s and 220 kWh, so the best month makes 3.2 times the worst. November to March brings in 54% of the year's output in Carson City.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 3.99 m/s | 553 kWh | $74 |
| February | 4.16 m/s | 567 kWh | $76 |
| March | 4.33 m/s | 711 kWh | $95 |
| April | 4.15 m/s | 603 kWh | $81 |
| May | 3.74 m/s | 453 kWh | $61 |
| June | 3.55 m/s | 372 kWh | $50 |
| July | 3.02 m/s | 227 kWh | $30 |
| August | 3.00 m/s | 220 kWh | $29 |
| September | 3.31 m/s | 297 kWh | $40 |
| October | 3.52 m/s | 375 kWh | $50 |
| November | 3.92 m/s | 510 kWh | $68 |
| December | 4.27 m/s | 681 kWh | $91 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Carson City averages 2.93 m/s; at 50 m it is 4.2 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.224, typical of ordinary open country. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 4,020 to 7,623 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 | 3.42 m/s | 4,020 kWh | over 100 years |
| 30 m | 3.75 m/s | 5,368 kWh | over 100 years |
| 40 m | 4 m/s | 6,553 kWh | over 100 years |
| 50 m | 4.2 m/s | 7,623 kWh | 98 years |
Counties around Carson City
None of the 6 closest counties is windier than Carson City.
- Douglas County, NV: 3.6 m/s, 4,736 kWh, payback over 100 years (19 mi)
- Storey County, NV: 3.6 m/s, 4,736 kWh, payback over 100 years (23 mi)
- Lyon County, NV: 3.6 m/s, 4,736 kWh, payback over 100 years (31 mi)
- Alpine County, CA: 3.53 m/s, 4,449 kWh, payback 69 years (37 mi)
- El Dorado County, CA: 3.43 m/s, 4,056 kWh, payback 76 years (49 mi)
- Sierra County, CA: 3.32 m/s, 3,648 kWh, payback 84 years (51 mi)
Sun versus wind in Carson City
Carson City gets 5.23 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,527 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 539. Kilowatt for kilowatt, panels make 2.8 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.