Wind Turbine Payback in Chaves County, NM
Wind turbine payback in Chaves 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 Chaves County, NM averages 5.42 m/s (12.1 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 15,462 kWh a year, worth $2,372 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 Chaves County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Chaves County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 7.8 m/s at the hub against 5.42 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,629 kWh a year here against the turbine's 1,546, 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 5.42. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of NM
Chaves County is the 1,264th 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 Chaves County
April is the strongest month here, at 6.48 m/s and about 1,912 kWh. August is the weakest, 4.34 m/s and 714 kWh, so the best month makes 2.7 times the worst. November to March brings in 45% of the year's output in Chaves County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 5.43 m/s | 1,321 kWh | $203 |
| February | 5.90 m/s | 1,457 kWh | $224 |
| March | 6.03 m/s | 1,691 kWh | $259 |
| April | 6.48 m/s | 1,912 kWh | $293 |
| May | 5.87 m/s | 1,591 kWh | $244 |
| June | 5.52 m/s | 1,331 kWh | $204 |
| July | 4.68 m/s | 886 kWh | $136 |
| August | 4.34 m/s | 714 kWh | $110 |
| September | 4.85 m/s | 947 kWh | $145 |
| October | 5.22 m/s | 1,193 kWh | $183 |
| November | 5.39 m/s | 1,253 kWh | $192 |
| December | 5.40 m/s | 1,300 kWh | $199 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Chaves County averages 4.2 m/s; at 50 m it is 6.11 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.233, typical of ordinary open country. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 12,101 to 20,520 kWh a year, 70% 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 | 4.94 m/s | 12,101 kWh | 54 years |
| 30 m | 5.42 m/s | 15,493 kWh | 42 years |
| 40 m | 5.8 m/s | 18,230 kWh | 36 years |
| 50 m | 6.11 m/s | 20,520 kWh | 32 years |
Counties around Chaves County
4 of the 6 closest counties are windier at turbine height; the windiest, Lea County, averages 6.16 m/s.
- Lincoln County, NM: 5.12 m/s, 13,353 kWh, payback 49 years (62 mi)
- Eddy County, NM: 5.59 m/s, 16,689 kWh, payback 39 years (63 mi)
- De Baca County, NM: 6.1 m/s, 20,446 kWh, payback 32 years (69 mi)
- Lea County, NM: 6.16 m/s, 20,891 kWh, payback 31 years (73 mi)
- Roosevelt County, NM: 6.01 m/s, 19,778 kWh, payback 33 years (73 mi)
- Otero County, NM: 5.15 m/s, 13,560 kWh, payback 48 years (90 mi)
Sun versus wind in Chaves County
Chaves County gets 5.58 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,629 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 1,546. Kilowatt for kilowatt, panels make 1.1 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.