Wind Turbine Payback in Chouteau County, MT
Wind turbine payback in Chouteau 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 Chouteau County, MT averages 6.09 m/s (13.6 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 20,371 kWh a year, worth $2,878 at MT's 14.13¢/kWh. Against an installed cost of about $100,000, that is a payback of 35 years, and the turbine is built to last about 20.
What to do in Chouteau County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Chouteau County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 8.2 m/s at the hub against 6.09 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,165 kWh a year here against the turbine's 2,037, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 25¢/kWh, 1.7 times what MT pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 8.2 m/s instead of 6.09. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of MT
Chouteau County is the 701st 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 Chouteau County
January is the strongest month here, at 7.07 m/s and about 2,341 kWh. August is the weakest, 4.88 m/s and 999 kWh, so the best month makes 2.3 times the worst. November to March brings in 51% of the year's output in Chouteau County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 7.07 m/s | 2,341 kWh | $331 |
| February | 6.32 m/s | 1,691 kWh | $239 |
| March | 6.48 m/s | 1,973 kWh | $279 |
| April | 6.09 m/s | 1,677 kWh | $237 |
| May | 5.75 m/s | 1,515 kWh | $214 |
| June | 5.60 m/s | 1,375 kWh | $194 |
| July | 5.11 m/s | 1,126 kWh | $159 |
| August | 4.88 m/s | 999 kWh | $141 |
| September | 5.44 m/s | 1,285 kWh | $182 |
| October | 6.44 m/s | 1,951 kWh | $276 |
| November | 7.08 m/s | 2,270 kWh | $321 |
| December | 6.85 m/s | 2,205 kWh | $312 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Chouteau County averages 4.74 m/s; at 50 m it is 6.85 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.229, typical of ordinary open country. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 16,424 to 25,964 kWh a year, 58% 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 | 5.55 m/s | 16,424 kWh | 43 years |
| 30 m | 6.09 m/s | 20,399 kWh | 35 years |
| 40 m | 6.51 m/s | 23,472 kWh | 30 years |
| 50 m | 6.85 m/s | 25,964 kWh | 27 years |
Counties around Chouteau County
4 of the 6 closest counties are windier at turbine height; the windiest, Blaine County, averages 6.31 m/s.
- Hill County, MT: 6.21 m/s, 21,262 kWh, payback 33 years (54 mi)
- Liberty County, MT: 6.21 m/s, 21,262 kWh, payback 33 years (54 mi)
- Cascade County, MT: 5.69 m/s, 17,419 kWh, payback 41 years (58 mi)
- Judith Basin County, MT: 5.97 m/s, 19,482 kWh, payback 36 years (59 mi)
- Fergus County, MT: 6.18 m/s, 21,039 kWh, payback 34 years (73 mi)
- Blaine County, MT: 6.31 m/s, 22,003 kWh, payback 32 years (77 mi)
Sun versus wind in Chouteau County
Chouteau County gets 3.99 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,165 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 2,037. This is one of the rare places where a kilowatt of turbine out-produces a kilowatt of panels, by 1.7 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.