Wind Turbine Payback in Douglas County, CO
Wind turbine payback in Douglas 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 Douglas County, CO averages 4.97 m/s (11.1 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 12,333 kWh a year, worth $2,072 at CO's 16.8¢/kWh. Against an installed cost of about $100,000, that is a payback of 48 years, and the turbine is built to last about 20.
What to do in Douglas County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Douglas County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 7.4 m/s at the hub against 4.97 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,416 kWh a year here against the turbine's 1,233, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 41¢/kWh, 2.4 times what CO pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 7.4 m/s instead of 4.97. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of CO
Douglas County is the 1,467th 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 Douglas County
January is the strongest month here, at 5.68 m/s and about 1,473 kWh. August is the weakest, 4.23 m/s and 660 kWh, so the best month makes 2.2 times the worst. November to March brings in 52% of the year's output in Douglas County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 5.68 m/s | 1,473 kWh | $247 |
| February | 5.48 m/s | 1,221 kWh | $205 |
| March | 5.42 m/s | 1,315 kWh | $221 |
| April | 5.41 m/s | 1,267 kWh | $213 |
| May | 4.61 m/s | 849 kWh | $143 |
| June | 4.55 m/s | 794 kWh | $133 |
| July | 4.31 m/s | 701 kWh | $118 |
| August | 4.23 m/s | 660 kWh | $111 |
| September | 4.55 m/s | 790 kWh | $133 |
| October | 4.84 m/s | 973 kWh | $163 |
| November | 5.23 m/s | 1,159 kWh | $195 |
| December | 5.36 m/s | 1,277 kWh | $215 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Douglas County averages 3.83 m/s; at 50 m it is 5.61 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.237, typical of ordinary open country. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 9,428 to 16,834 kWh a year, 79% 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 | 4.51 m/s | 9,428 kWh | 63 years |
| 30 m | 4.97 m/s | 12,335 kWh | 48 years |
| 40 m | 5.32 m/s | 14,757 kWh | 40 years |
| 50 m | 5.61 m/s | 16,834 kWh | 35 years |
Counties around Douglas County
4 of the 6 closest counties are windier at turbine height; the windiest, Arapahoe County, averages 5.42 m/s.
- Jefferson County, CO: 4.97 m/s, 12,333 kWh, payback 48 years (24 mi)
- Denver County, CO: 4.76 m/s, 10,954 kWh, payback 54 years (30 mi)
- Teller County, CO: 5.09 m/s, 13,146 kWh, payback 45 years (34 mi)
- Arapahoe County, CO: 5.42 m/s, 15,462 kWh, payback 39 years (39 mi)
- El Paso County, CO: 5.4 m/s, 15,319 kWh, payback 39 years (41 mi)
- Elbert County, CO: 5.42 m/s, 15,462 kWh, payback 39 years (43 mi)
Sun versus wind in Douglas County
Douglas County gets 4.85 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,416 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 1,233. Kilowatt for kilowatt, panels make 1.1 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.