Wind Turbine Payback in Fremont County, CO
Wind turbine payback in Fremont 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 Fremont County, CO averages 4.87 m/s (10.9 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 11,668 kWh a year, worth $1,960 at CO's 16.8¢/kWh. Against an installed cost of about $100,000, that is a payback of 51 years, and the turbine is built to last about 20.
What to do in Fremont County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Fremont County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 7.4 m/s at the hub against 4.87 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,460 kWh a year here against the turbine's 1,167, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 43¢/kWh, 2.6 times what CO pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 7.4 m/s instead of 4.87. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of CO
Fremont County is the 1,524th 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 Fremont County
December is the strongest month here, at 5.82 m/s and about 1,559 kWh. August is the weakest, 3.36 m/s and 324 kWh, so the best month makes 4.8 times the worst. November to March brings in 58% of the year's output in Fremont County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 5.74 m/s | 1,508 kWh | $253 |
| February | 5.93 m/s | 1,475 kWh | $248 |
| March | 5.54 m/s | 1,385 kWh | $233 |
| April | 5.61 m/s | 1,384 kWh | $233 |
| May | 4.65 m/s | 873 kWh | $147 |
| June | 4.35 m/s | 694 kWh | $117 |
| July | 3.36 m/s | 324 kWh | $54 |
| August | 3.36 m/s | 324 kWh | $54 |
| September | 3.97 m/s | 528 kWh | $89 |
| October | 4.85 m/s | 981 kWh | $165 |
| November | 5.37 m/s | 1,240 kWh | $208 |
| December | 5.82 m/s | 1,559 kWh | $262 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Fremont County averages 3.9 m/s; at 50 m it is 5.4 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.202, typical of ordinary open country. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 9,264 to 15,319 kWh a year, 65% 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 | 4.49 m/s | 9,264 kWh | 64 years |
| 30 m | 4.87 m/s | 11,672 kWh | 51 years |
| 40 m | 5.16 m/s | 13,643 kWh | 44 years |
| 50 m | 5.4 m/s | 15,319 kWh | 39 years |
Counties around Fremont County
5 of the 6 closest counties are windier at turbine height; the windiest, Park County, averages 5.21 m/s.
- Custer County, CO: 4.56 m/s, 9,702 kWh, payback 61 years (25 mi)
- Teller County, CO: 5.09 m/s, 13,146 kWh, payback 45 years (31 mi)
- Park County, CO: 5.21 m/s, 13,976 kWh, payback 43 years (48 mi)
- Chaffee County, CO: 5.01 m/s, 12,602 kWh, payback 47 years (51 mi)
- Saguache County, CO: 5.18 m/s, 13,768 kWh, payback 43 years (53 mi)
- Pueblo County, CO: 5.18 m/s, 13,768 kWh, payback 43 years (55 mi)
Sun versus wind in Fremont County
Fremont County gets 5 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,460 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 1,167. Kilowatt for kilowatt, panels make 1.3 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.