Wind Turbine Payback in Elko County, NV
Wind turbine payback in Elko 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 Elko County, NV averages 4.26 m/s (9.5 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 7,953 kWh a year, worth $1,062 at NV's 13.36¢/kWh. Against an installed cost of about $100,000, that is a payback of 94 years, and the turbine is built to last about 20.
What to do in Elko County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Elko County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 8.6 m/s at the hub against 4.26 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,369 kWh a year here against the turbine's 795, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 63¢/kWh, 4.7 times what NV pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 8.6 m/s instead of 4.26. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of NV
Elko County is the 1,913th windiest of 3,144 US counties at turbine height; the national middle is 4.79 m/s. The windiest in NV is Nye County at 4.71 m/s, payback 70 years.
Month by month in Elko County
March is the strongest month here, at 4.84 m/s and about 972 kWh. September is the weakest, 3.80 m/s and 462 kWh, so the best month makes 2.1 times the worst. November to March brings in 47% of the year's output in Elko County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 4.14 m/s | 621 kWh | $83 |
| February | 4.58 m/s | 755 kWh | $101 |
| March | 4.84 m/s | 972 kWh | $130 |
| April | 4.80 m/s | 922 kWh | $123 |
| May | 4.31 m/s | 701 kWh | $94 |
| June | 4.30 m/s | 670 kWh | $90 |
| July | 3.81 m/s | 481 kWh | $64 |
| August | 3.78 m/s | 470 kWh | $63 |
| September | 3.80 m/s | 462 kWh | $62 |
| October | 4.03 m/s | 573 kWh | $77 |
| November | 4.30 m/s | 670 kWh | $90 |
| December | 4.48 m/s | 781 kWh | $104 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Elko County averages 3.4 m/s; at 50 m it is 4.73 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.205, typical of ordinary open country. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 6,182 to 10,762 kWh a year, 74% 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 | 3.92 m/s | 6,182 kWh | over 100 years |
| 30 m | 4.26 m/s | 7,951 kWh | 94 years |
| 40 m | 4.52 m/s | 9,450 kWh | 79 years |
| 50 m | 4.73 m/s | 10,762 kWh | 70 years |
Counties around Elko County
6 of the 6 closest counties are windier at turbine height; the windiest, Owyhee County, averages 5.38 m/s.
- Twin Falls County, ID: 5.3 m/s, 14,608 kWh, payback 53 years (91 mi)
- Eureka County, NV: 4.32 m/s, 8,289 kWh, payback 90 years (94 mi)
- Owyhee County, ID: 5.38 m/s, 15,176 kWh, payback 51 years (108 mi)
- Cassia County, ID: 4.98 m/s, 12,400 kWh, payback 62 years (119 mi)
- Jerome County, ID: 5.3 m/s, 14,608 kWh, payback 53 years (121 mi)
- White Pine County, NV: 4.38 m/s, 8,632 kWh, payback 87 years (121 mi)
Sun versus wind in Elko County
Elko County gets 4.69 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,369 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 795. Kilowatt for kilowatt, panels make 1.7 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.