Wind Turbine Payback in Elmore County, ID
Wind turbine payback in Elmore 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 Elmore County, ID averages 3.85 m/s (8.6 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 5,847 kWh a year, worth $761 at ID's 13.02¢/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 Elmore County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Elmore County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 8.7 m/s at the hub against 3.85 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,337 kWh a year here against the turbine's 585, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 86¢/kWh, 6.6 times what ID pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 8.7 m/s instead of 3.85. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of ID
Elmore County is the 2,176th windiest of 3,144 US counties at turbine height; the national middle is 4.79 m/s. The windiest in ID is Owyhee County at 5.38 m/s, payback 51 years.
Month by month in Elmore County
March is the strongest month here, at 4.12 m/s and about 610 kWh. September is the weakest, 3.61 m/s and 393 kWh, so the best month makes 1.6 times the worst. November to March brings in 45% of the year's output in Elmore County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 3.84 m/s | 492 kWh | $64 |
| February | 3.96 m/s | 489 kWh | $64 |
| March | 4.12 m/s | 610 kWh | $79 |
| April | 4.08 m/s | 575 kWh | $75 |
| May | 3.84 m/s | 492 kWh | $64 |
| June | 3.76 m/s | 446 kWh | $58 |
| July | 3.65 m/s | 419 kWh | $55 |
| August | 3.60 m/s | 403 kWh | $52 |
| September | 3.61 m/s | 393 kWh | $51 |
| October | 3.78 m/s | 468 kWh | $61 |
| November | 3.96 m/s | 524 kWh | $68 |
| December | 3.95 m/s | 538 kWh | $70 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Elmore County averages 2.88 m/s; at 50 m it is 4.4 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.263, typical of ordinary open country. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 4,163 to 8,748 kWh a year, 110% 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 | 3.46 m/s | 4,163 kWh | over 100 years |
| 30 m | 3.85 m/s | 5,832 kWh | over 100 years |
| 40 m | 4.15 m/s | 7,350 kWh | over 100 years |
| 50 m | 4.4 m/s | 8,748 kWh | 88 years |
Counties around Elmore County
4 of the 6 closest counties are windier at turbine height; the windiest, Gooding County, averages 4.99 m/s.
- Camas County, ID: 4.1 m/s, 7,090 kWh, payback over 100 years (36 mi)
- Ada County, ID: 4.17 m/s, 7,461 kWh, payback over 100 years (39 mi)
- Boise County, ID: 2.86 m/s, 2,205 kWh, payback over 100 years (43 mi)
- Gooding County, ID: 4.99 m/s, 12,467 kWh, payback 62 years (44 mi)
- Canyon County, ID: 4.3 m/s, 8,176 kWh, payback 94 years (64 mi)
- Gem County, ID: 3.76 m/s, 5,432 kWh, payback over 100 years (65 mi)
Sun versus wind in Elmore County
Elmore County gets 4.58 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,337 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 585. Kilowatt for kilowatt, panels make 2.3 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.