Wind Turbine Payback in Clear Creek County, CO
Wind turbine payback in Clear Creek 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 Clear Creek County, CO averages 4.63 m/s (10.4 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 10,132 kWh a year, worth $1,702 at CO's 16.8¢/kWh. Against an installed cost of about $100,000, that is a payback of 59 years, and the turbine is built to last about 20.
What to do in Clear Creek County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Clear Creek County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 7.4 m/s at the hub against 4.63 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,384 kWh a year here against the turbine's 1,013, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 49¢/kWh, 2.9 times what CO pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 7.4 m/s instead of 4.63. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of CO
Clear Creek County is the 1,671st windiest of 3,144 US counties at turbine height; the national middle is 4.79 m/s. The windiest in CO is Baca County at 6.65 m/s, payback 24 years.
Month by month in Clear Creek County
January is the strongest month here, at 5.80 m/s and about 1,549 kWh. July is the weakest, 3.26 m/s and 290 kWh, so the best month makes 5.3 times the worst. November to March brings in 62% of the year's output in Clear Creek County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 5.80 m/s | 1,549 kWh | $260 |
| February | 5.68 m/s | 1,332 kWh | $224 |
| March | 5.31 m/s | 1,249 kWh | $210 |
| April | 5.06 m/s | 1,063 kWh | $179 |
| May | 4.15 m/s | 626 kWh | $105 |
| June | 3.95 m/s | 519 kWh | $87 |
| July | 3.26 m/s | 290 kWh | $49 |
| August | 3.27 m/s | 296 kWh | $50 |
| September | 3.77 m/s | 449 kWh | $75 |
| October | 4.60 m/s | 843 kWh | $142 |
| November | 5.19 m/s | 1,140 kWh | $192 |
| December | 5.63 m/s | 1,443 kWh | $242 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Clear Creek County averages 3.3 m/s; at 50 m it is 5.42 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.308, typical of rough, sheltered ground: trees or buildings slow the low wind a lot. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 7,024 to 15,462 kWh a year, 120% 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 | 4.09 m/s | 7,024 kWh | 85 years |
| 30 m | 4.63 m/s | 10,138 kWh | 59 years |
| 40 m | 5.06 m/s | 12,941 kWh | 46 years |
| 50 m | 5.42 m/s | 15,462 kWh | 39 years |
Counties around Clear Creek County
4 of the 6 closest counties are windier at turbine height; the windiest, Jefferson County, averages 4.97 m/s.
- Gilpin County, CO: 4.87 m/s, 11,668 kWh, payback 51 years (14 mi)
- Jefferson County, CO: 4.97 m/s, 12,333 kWh, payback 48 years (24 mi)
- Summit County, CO: 3.59 m/s, 4,694 kWh, payback over 100 years (25 mi)
- Boulder County, CO: 4.87 m/s, 11,668 kWh, payback 51 years (32 mi)
- Grand County, CO: 3.36 m/s, 3,794 kWh, payback over 100 years (37 mi)
- Broomfield County, CO: 4.76 m/s, 10,954 kWh, payback 54 years (38 mi)
Sun versus wind in Clear Creek County
Clear Creek County gets 4.74 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,384 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 1,013. Kilowatt for kilowatt, panels make 1.4 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.