Wind Turbine Payback in Fremont County, WY
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, WY averages 5.48 m/s (12.3 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 15,893 kWh a year, worth $2,227 at WY's 14.01¢/kWh. Against an installed cost of about $100,000, that is a payback of 45 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, 8.3 m/s at the hub against 5.48 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,340 kWh a year here against the turbine's 1,589, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 31¢/kWh, 2.2 times what WY pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 8.3 m/s instead of 5.48. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of WY
Fremont County is the 1,234th windiest of 3,144 US counties at turbine height; the national middle is 4.79 m/s. The windiest in WY is Albany County at 7.32 m/s, payback 24 years.
Month by month in Fremont County
January is the strongest month here, at 6.88 m/s and about 2,226 kWh. July is the weakest, 4.21 m/s and 651 kWh, so the best month makes 3.4 times the worst. November to March brings in 59% of the year's output in Fremont County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 6.88 m/s | 2,226 kWh | $312 |
| February | 6.40 m/s | 1,737 kWh | $243 |
| March | 6.13 m/s | 1,756 kWh | $246 |
| April | 5.39 m/s | 1,251 kWh | $175 |
| May | 4.67 m/s | 881 kWh | $123 |
| June | 4.73 m/s | 885 kWh | $124 |
| July | 4.21 m/s | 651 kWh | $91 |
| August | 4.30 m/s | 693 kWh | $97 |
| September | 4.83 m/s | 937 kWh | $131 |
| October | 5.36 m/s | 1,277 kWh | $179 |
| November | 6.21 m/s | 1,748 kWh | $245 |
| December | 6.62 m/s | 2,062 kWh | $289 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Fremont County averages 4.22 m/s; at 50 m it is 6.18 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.237, typical of ordinary open country. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 12,357 to 21,039 kWh a year, 70% 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 | 4.97 m/s | 12,357 kWh | 58 years |
| 30 m | 5.48 m/s | 15,859 kWh | 45 years |
| 40 m | 5.86 m/s | 18,681 kWh | 38 years |
| 50 m | 6.18 m/s | 21,039 kWh | 34 years |
Counties around Fremont County
2 of the 6 closest counties are windier at turbine height; the windiest, Sweetwater County, averages 6.42 m/s.
- Hot Springs County, WY: 4.66 m/s, 10,320 kWh, payback 69 years (47 mi)
- Sublette County, WY: 3.96 m/s, 6,378 kWh, payback over 100 years (69 mi)
- Washakie County, WY: 4.36 m/s, 8,517 kWh, payback 84 years (74 mi)
- Natrona County, WY: 6.38 m/s, 22,521 kWh, payback 32 years (93 mi)
- Sweetwater County, WY: 6.42 m/s, 22,817 kWh, payback 31 years (97 mi)
- Big Horn County, WY: 4.34 m/s, 8,403 kWh, payback 85 years (106 mi)
Sun versus wind in Fremont County
Fremont County gets 4.59 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,340 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 1,589. This is one of the rare places where a kilowatt of turbine out-produces a kilowatt of panels, by 1.2 times. 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.