Wind Turbine Payback in Gunnison County, CO
Wind turbine payback in Gunnison 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 Gunnison County, CO averages 4.6 m/s (10.3 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 9,947 kWh a year, worth $1,671 at CO's 16.8¢/kWh. Against an installed cost of about $100,000, that is a payback of 60 years, and the turbine is built to last about 20.
What to do in Gunnison County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Gunnison County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 7.4 m/s at the hub against 4.6 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,460 kWh a year here against the turbine's 995, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 50¢/kWh, 3.0 times what CO pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 7.4 m/s instead of 4.6. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of CO
Gunnison County is the 1,696th 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 Gunnison County
April is the strongest month here, at 5.63 m/s and about 1,397 kWh. July is the weakest, 3.25 m/s and 288 kWh, so the best month makes 4.9 times the worst. November to March brings in 51% of the year's output in Gunnison County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 4.85 m/s | 981 kWh | $165 |
| February | 5.36 m/s | 1,154 kWh | $194 |
| March | 5.34 m/s | 1,266 kWh | $213 |
| April | 5.63 m/s | 1,397 kWh | $235 |
| May | 4.77 m/s | 936 kWh | $157 |
| June | 4.47 m/s | 754 kWh | $127 |
| July | 3.25 m/s | 288 kWh | $48 |
| August | 3.28 m/s | 299 kWh | $50 |
| September | 3.90 m/s | 500 kWh | $84 |
| October | 4.71 m/s | 902 kWh | $152 |
| November | 4.82 m/s | 930 kWh | $156 |
| December | 4.94 m/s | 1,032 kWh | $173 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Gunnison County averages 3.73 m/s; at 50 m it is 5.07 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.191, typical of ordinary open country. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 7,931 to 13,010 kWh a year, 64% 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 | 4.26 m/s | 7,931 kWh | 75 years |
| 30 m | 4.6 m/s | 9,939 kWh | 60 years |
| 40 m | 4.86 m/s | 11,593 kWh | 51 years |
| 50 m | 5.07 m/s | 13,010 kWh | 46 years |
Counties around Gunnison County
2 of the 6 closest counties are windier at turbine height; the windiest, Lake County, averages 5.03 m/s.
- Pitkin County, CO: 3.5 m/s, 4,329 kWh, payback over 100 years (39 mi)
- Chaffee County, CO: 5.01 m/s, 12,602 kWh, payback 47 years (41 mi)
- Delta County, CO: 3.66 m/s, 4,991 kWh, payback over 100 years (45 mi)
- Lake County, CO: 5.03 m/s, 12,737 kWh, payback 47 years (53 mi)
- Ouray County, CO: 3.36 m/s, 3,794 kWh, payback over 100 years (53 mi)
- Hinsdale County, CO: 3.36 m/s, 3,794 kWh, payback over 100 years (62 mi)
Sun versus wind in Gunnison County
Gunnison 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 995. Kilowatt for kilowatt, panels make 1.5 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.