Wind Turbine Payback in Emery County, UT
Wind turbine payback in Emery 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 Emery County, UT averages 4.5 m/s (10.1 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 9,339 kWh a year, worth $1,232 at UT's 13.19¢/kWh. Against an installed cost of about $100,000, that is a payback of 81 years, and the turbine is built to last about 20.
What to do in Emery County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Emery County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 8.7 m/s at the hub against 4.5 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,478 kWh a year here against the turbine's 934, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 54¢/kWh, 4.1 times what UT pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 8.7 m/s instead of 4.5. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of UT
Emery County is the 1,743rd 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 Emery County
April is the strongest month here, at 5.52 m/s and about 1,330 kWh. August is the weakest, 3.85 m/s and 498 kWh, so the best month makes 2.7 times the worst. November to March brings in 38% of the year's output in Emery County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 4.17 m/s | 636 kWh | $84 |
| February | 4.65 m/s | 785 kWh | $104 |
| March | 4.99 m/s | 1,061 kWh | $140 |
| April | 5.52 m/s | 1,330 kWh | $175 |
| May | 4.91 m/s | 1,016 kWh | $134 |
| June | 5.10 m/s | 1,087 kWh | $143 |
| July | 3.96 m/s | 542 kWh | $71 |
| August | 3.85 m/s | 498 kWh | $66 |
| September | 4.32 m/s | 680 kWh | $90 |
| October | 4.44 m/s | 764 kWh | $101 |
| November | 4.14 m/s | 599 kWh | $79 |
| December | 4.05 m/s | 580 kWh | $77 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Emery County averages 3.52 m/s; at 50 m it is 5.05 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.224, typical of ordinary open country. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 7,158 to 12,873 kWh a year, 80% 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 | 4.11 m/s | 7,158 kWh | over 100 years |
| 30 m | 4.5 m/s | 9,363 kWh | 81 years |
| 40 m | 4.8 m/s | 11,236 kWh | 68 years |
| 50 m | 5.05 m/s | 12,873 kWh | 59 years |
Counties around Emery County
2 of the 6 closest counties are windier at turbine height; the windiest, Carbon County, averages 4.73 m/s.
- Carbon County, UT: 4.73 m/s, 10,762 kWh, payback 70 years (46 mi)
- Sanpete County, UT: 3.92 m/s, 6,182 kWh, payback over 100 years (52 mi)
- Wayne County, UT: 4.68 m/s, 10,445 kWh, payback 73 years (54 mi)
- Sevier County, UT: 4.02 m/s, 6,678 kWh, payback over 100 years (61 mi)
- Grand County, UT: 4.35 m/s, 8,460 kWh, payback 90 years (62 mi)
- Piute County, UT: 4.02 m/s, 6,678 kWh, payback over 100 years (89 mi)
Sun versus wind in Emery County
Emery County gets 5.06 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,478 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 934. Kilowatt for kilowatt, panels make 1.6 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.