Wind Turbine Payback in Duchesne County, UT
Wind turbine payback in Duchesne 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 Duchesne County, UT averages 3.72 m/s (8.3 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 5,253 kWh a year, worth $693 at UT's 13.19¢/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 Duchesne County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Duchesne County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 8.7 m/s at the hub against 3.72 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,399 kWh a year here against the turbine's 525, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 95¢/kWh, 7.2 times what UT pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 8.7 m/s instead of 3.72. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of UT
Duchesne County is the 2,277th windiest of 3,144 US counties at turbine height; the national middle is 4.79 m/s. The windiest in UT is Daggett County at 5.32 m/s, payback 51 years.
Month by month in Duchesne County
March is the strongest month here, at 4.22 m/s and about 657 kWh. July is the weakest, 2.87 m/s and 190 kWh, so the best month makes 3.5 times the worst. November to March brings in 52% of the year's output in Duchesne County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 4.07 m/s | 589 kWh | $78 |
| February | 4.28 m/s | 619 kWh | $82 |
| March | 4.22 m/s | 657 kWh | $87 |
| April | 4.24 m/s | 644 kWh | $85 |
| May | 3.70 m/s | 439 kWh | $58 |
| June | 3.74 m/s | 440 kWh | $58 |
| July | 2.87 m/s | 190 kWh | $25 |
| August | 2.91 m/s | 199 kWh | $26 |
| September | 3.30 m/s | 293 kWh | $39 |
| October | 3.69 m/s | 436 kWh | $58 |
| November | 3.76 m/s | 446 kWh | $59 |
| December | 3.90 m/s | 518 kWh | $68 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Duchesne County averages 2.55 m/s; at 50 m it is 4.43 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.343, typical of rough, sheltered ground: trees or buildings slow the low wind a lot. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 3,351 to 8,924 kWh a year, 166% 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 | 3.24 m/s | 3,351 kWh | over 100 years |
| 30 m | 3.72 m/s | 5,244 kWh | over 100 years |
| 40 m | 4.1 m/s | 7,109 kWh | over 100 years |
| 50 m | 4.43 m/s | 8,924 kWh | 85 years |
Counties around Duchesne County
4 of the 6 closest counties are windier at turbine height; the windiest, Daggett County, averages 5.32 m/s.
- Wasatch County, UT: 3.18 m/s, 3,165 kWh, payback over 100 years (39 mi)
- Carbon County, UT: 4.73 m/s, 10,762 kWh, payback 70 years (43 mi)
- Summit County, UT: 3.82 m/s, 5,707 kWh, payback over 100 years (49 mi)
- Uintah County, UT: 4.38 m/s, 8,632 kWh, payback 88 years (49 mi)
- Daggett County, UT: 5.32 m/s, 14,750 kWh, payback 51 years (64 mi)
- Utah County, UT: 3.6 m/s, 4,736 kWh, payback over 100 years (66 mi)
Sun versus wind in Duchesne County
Duchesne County gets 4.79 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,399 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 525. Kilowatt for kilowatt, panels make 2.7 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.