Wind Turbine Payback in Clallam County, WA
Wind turbine payback in Clallam 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 Clallam County, WA averages 3.01 m/s (6.7 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 2,631 kWh a year, worth $379 at WA's 14.42¢/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 Clallam County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Clallam County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 8.1 m/s at the hub against 3.01 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,016 kWh a year here against the turbine's 263, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 190¢/kWh, 13.2 times what WA pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 8.1 m/s instead of 3.01. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of WA
Clallam County is the 3,056th windiest of 3,144 US counties at turbine height; the national middle is 4.79 m/s. The windiest in WA is Columbia County at 5.18 m/s, payback 50 years.
Month by month in Clallam County
January is the strongest month here, at 3.83 m/s and about 489 kWh. August is the weakest, 2.12 m/s and 58 kWh, so the best month makes 8.4 times the worst. November to March brings in 70% of the year's output in Clallam County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 3.83 m/s | 489 kWh | $71 |
| February | 3.42 m/s | 308 kWh | $44 |
| March | 3.57 m/s | 390 kWh | $56 |
| April | 3.03 m/s | 220 kWh | $32 |
| May | 2.47 m/s | 109 kWh | $16 |
| June | 2.45 m/s | 103 kWh | $15 |
| July | 2.17 m/s | 64 kWh | $9 |
| August | 2.12 m/s | 58 kWh | $8 |
| September | 2.47 m/s | 106 kWh | $15 |
| October | 3.12 m/s | 252 kWh | $36 |
| November | 3.77 m/s | 451 kWh | $65 |
| December | 3.79 m/s | 472 kWh | $68 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Clallam County averages 2.16 m/s; at 50 m it is 3.51 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.302, typical of rough, sheltered ground: trees or buildings slow the low wind a lot. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 1,706 to 4,368 kWh a year, 156% 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 | 2.66 m/s | 1,706 kWh | over 100 years |
| 30 m | 3.01 m/s | 2,625 kWh | over 100 years |
| 40 m | 3.28 m/s | 3,510 kWh | over 100 years |
| 50 m | 3.51 m/s | 4,368 kWh | over 100 years |
Counties around Clallam County
2 of the 6 closest counties are windier at turbine height; the windiest, San Juan County, averages 3.83 m/s.
- Jefferson County, WA: 3.01 m/s, 2,631 kWh, payback over 100 years (27 mi)
- San Juan County, WA: 3.83 m/s, 5,753 kWh, payback over 100 years (45 mi)
- Island County, WA: 2.56 m/s, 1,477 kWh, payback over 100 years (56 mi)
- Mason County, WA: 2.6 m/s, 1,565 kWh, payback over 100 years (62 mi)
- Kitsap County, WA: 2.97 m/s, 2,513 kWh, payback over 100 years (66 mi)
- Grays Harbor County, WA: 3.45 m/s, 4,133 kWh, payback over 100 years (69 mi)
Sun versus wind in Clallam County
Clallam County gets 3.48 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,016 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 263. Kilowatt for kilowatt, panels make 3.9 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.