Wind Turbine Payback in Deer Lodge County, MT
Wind turbine payback in Deer Lodge 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 Deer Lodge County, MT averages 3.65 m/s (8.2 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 4,948 kWh a year, worth $699 at MT's 14.13¢/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 Deer Lodge County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Deer Lodge County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 8.2 m/s at the hub against 3.65 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,171 kWh a year here against the turbine's 495, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 101¢/kWh, 7.2 times what MT pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 8.2 m/s instead of 3.65. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of MT
Deer Lodge County is the 2,332nd 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 Deer Lodge County
January is the strongest month here, at 4.35 m/s and about 716 kWh. August is the weakest, 2.91 m/s and 198 kWh, so the best month makes 3.6 times the worst. November to March brings in 60% of the year's output in Deer Lodge County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 4.35 m/s | 716 kWh | $101 |
| February | 4.07 m/s | 533 kWh | $75 |
| March | 4.10 m/s | 601 kWh | $85 |
| April | 3.71 m/s | 428 kWh | $60 |
| May | 3.25 m/s | 288 kWh | $41 |
| June | 3.12 m/s | 245 kWh | $35 |
| July | 2.91 m/s | 198 kWh | $28 |
| August | 2.91 m/s | 198 kWh | $28 |
| September | 3.23 m/s | 274 kWh | $39 |
| October | 3.80 m/s | 477 kWh | $67 |
| November | 4.17 m/s | 614 kWh | $87 |
| December | 4.19 m/s | 642 kWh | $91 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Deer Lodge County averages 2.42 m/s; at 50 m it is 4.42 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.374, typical of rough, sheltered ground: trees or buildings slow the low wind a lot. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 3,026 to 8,865 kWh a year, 193% 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 | 3.14 m/s | 3,026 kWh | over 100 years |
| 30 m | 3.65 m/s | 4,953 kWh | over 100 years |
| 40 m | 4.07 m/s | 6,914 kWh | over 100 years |
| 50 m | 4.42 m/s | 8,865 kWh | 80 years |
Counties around Deer Lodge County
4 of the 6 closest counties are windier at turbine height; the windiest, Jefferson County, averages 4.03 m/s.
- Granite County, MT: 3.77 m/s, 5,477 kWh, payback over 100 years (25 mi)
- Silver Bow County, MT: 3.78 m/s, 5,523 kWh, payback over 100 years (27 mi)
- Ravalli County, MT: 2.71 m/s, 1,821 kWh, payback over 100 years (46 mi)
- Jefferson County, MT: 4.03 m/s, 6,729 kWh, payback over 100 years (52 mi)
- Powell County, MT: 3.35 m/s, 3,757 kWh, payback over 100 years (53 mi)
- Beaverhead County, MT: 3.95 m/s, 6,329 kWh, payback over 100 years (67 mi)
Sun versus wind in Deer Lodge County
Deer Lodge County gets 4.01 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,171 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 495. Kilowatt for kilowatt, panels make 2.4 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.