Wind Turbine Payback in Dixon County, NE
Wind turbine payback in Dixon 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 Dixon County, NE averages 6.52 m/s (14.6 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 23,554 kWh a year, worth $3,043 at NE's 12.92¢/kWh. Against an installed cost of about $100,000, that is a payback of 33 years, and the turbine is built to last about 20.
What to do in Dixon County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Dixon County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 8.8 m/s at the hub against 6.52 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,215 kWh a year here against the turbine's 2,355, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 21¢/kWh, 1.6 times what NE pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 8.8 m/s instead of 6.52. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of NE
Dixon County is the 180th windiest of 3,144 US counties at turbine height; the national middle is 4.79 m/s. The windiest in NE is Cherry County at 6.83 m/s, payback 30 years.
Month by month in Dixon County
April is the strongest month here, at 7.28 m/s and about 2,385 kWh. July is the weakest, 5.41 m/s and 1,310 kWh, so the best month makes 1.8 times the worst. November to March brings in 45% of the year's output in Dixon County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 6.80 m/s | 2,177 kWh | $281 |
| February | 6.76 m/s | 1,941 kWh | $251 |
| March | 6.95 m/s | 2,265 kWh | $293 |
| April | 7.28 m/s | 2,385 kWh | $308 |
| May | 6.70 m/s | 2,110 kWh | $273 |
| June | 6.11 m/s | 1,689 kWh | $218 |
| July | 5.41 m/s | 1,310 kWh | $169 |
| August | 5.42 m/s | 1,315 kWh | $170 |
| September | 6.53 m/s | 1,940 kWh | $251 |
| October | 6.82 m/s | 2,188 kWh | $283 |
| November | 6.86 m/s | 2,139 kWh | $276 |
| December | 6.64 m/s | 2,077 kWh | $268 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Dixon County averages 5.15 m/s; at 50 m it is 7.27 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.214, typical of ordinary open country. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 19,523 to 28,951 kWh a year, 48% 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 | 5.98 m/s | 19,523 kWh | 40 years |
| 30 m | 6.52 m/s | 23,533 kWh | 33 years |
| 40 m | 6.93 m/s | 26,548 kWh | 29 years |
| 50 m | 7.27 m/s | 28,951 kWh | 27 years |
Counties around Dixon County
2 of the 6 closest counties are windier at turbine height; the windiest, Cedar County, averages 6.66 m/s.
- Dakota County, NE: 6.4 m/s, 22,669 kWh, payback 34 years (16 mi)
- Cedar County, NE: 6.66 m/s, 24,582 kWh, payback 32 years (22 mi)
- Wayne County, NE: 6.54 m/s, 23,702 kWh, payback 33 years (23 mi)
- Union County, SD: 6.4 m/s, 22,669 kWh, payback 30 years (26 mi)
- Thurston County, NE: 6.39 m/s, 22,595 kWh, payback 34 years (28 mi)
- Clay County, SD: 6.4 m/s, 22,669 kWh, payback 30 years (30 mi)
Sun versus wind in Dixon County
Dixon County gets 4.16 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,215 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 2,355. This is one of the rare places where a kilowatt of turbine out-produces a kilowatt of panels, by 1.9 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.