Wind Turbine Payback in Catron County, NM
Wind turbine payback in Catron 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 Catron County, NM averages 5.45 m/s (12.2 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 15,677 kWh a year, worth $2,405 at NM's 15.34¢/kWh. Against an installed cost of about $100,000, that is a payback of 42 years, and the turbine is built to last about 20.
What to do in Catron County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Catron County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 7.8 m/s at the hub against 5.45 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,612 kWh a year here against the turbine's 1,568, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 32¢/kWh, 2.1 times what NM pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 7.8 m/s instead of 5.45. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of NM
Catron County is the 1,247th windiest of 3,144 US counties at turbine height; the national middle is 4.79 m/s. The windiest in NM is Union County at 6.75 m/s, payback 26 years.
Month by month in Catron County
April is the strongest month here, at 6.95 m/s and about 2,196 kWh. August is the weakest, 3.65 m/s and 421 kWh, so the best month makes 5.2 times the worst. November to March brings in 50% of the year's output in Catron County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 5.57 m/s | 1,408 kWh | $216 |
| February | 6.37 m/s | 1,720 kWh | $264 |
| March | 6.46 m/s | 1,961 kWh | $301 |
| April | 6.95 m/s | 2,196 kWh | $337 |
| May | 6.06 m/s | 1,714 kWh | $263 |
| June | 5.35 m/s | 1,231 kWh | $189 |
| July | 3.84 m/s | 492 kWh | $75 |
| August | 3.65 m/s | 421 kWh | $65 |
| September | 4.49 m/s | 762 kWh | $117 |
| October | 5.33 m/s | 1,261 kWh | $193 |
| November | 5.64 m/s | 1,400 kWh | $215 |
| December | 5.82 m/s | 1,557 kWh | $239 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Catron County averages 4.25 m/s; at 50 m it is 6.12 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.227, typical of ordinary open country. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 12,338 to 20,594 kWh a year, 67% 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 | 4.97 m/s | 12,338 kWh | 53 years |
| 30 m | 5.45 m/s | 15,677 kWh | 42 years |
| 40 m | 5.82 m/s | 18,357 kWh | 36 years |
| 50 m | 6.12 m/s | 20,594 kWh | 32 years |
Counties around Catron County
2 of the 6 closest counties are windier at turbine height; the windiest, Cibola County, averages 5.8 m/s.
- Greenlee County, AZ: 4.17 m/s, 7,461 kWh, payback 87 years (67 mi)
- Cibola County, NM: 5.8 m/s, 18,226 kWh, payback 36 years (74 mi)
- Grant County, NM: 5.52 m/s, 16,181 kWh, payback 40 years (81 mi)
- Socorro County, NM: 5.09 m/s, 13,146 kWh, payback 50 years (84 mi)
- Sierra County, NM: 5.05 m/s, 12,873 kWh, payback 51 years (88 mi)
- Valencia County, NM: 4.65 m/s, 10,257 kWh, payback 64 years (107 mi)
Sun versus wind in Catron County
Catron County gets 5.52 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,612 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 1,568. Kilowatt for kilowatt, panels make 1.0 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.