Wind Turbine Payback in Hamilton County, KS
Wind turbine payback in Hamilton 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 Hamilton County, KS averages 6.26 m/s (14 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 21,632 kWh a year, worth $3,301 at KS's 15.26¢/kWh. Against an installed cost of about $100,000, that is a payback of 30 years, and the turbine is built to last about 20.
What to do in Hamilton County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Hamilton County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 7.8 m/s at the hub against 6.26 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,472 kWh a year here against the turbine's 2,163, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 23¢/kWh, 1.5 times what KS pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 7.8 m/s instead of 6.26. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of KS
Hamilton County is the 520th windiest of 3,144 US counties at turbine height; the national middle is 4.79 m/s. The windiest in KS is Edwards County at 6.68 m/s, payback 27 years.
Month by month in Hamilton County
April is the strongest month here, at 7.00 m/s and about 2,226 kWh. August is the weakest, 5.71 m/s and 1,490 kWh, so the best month makes 1.5 times the worst. November to March brings in 40% of the year's output in Hamilton County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 5.91 m/s | 1,619 kWh | $247 |
| February | 6.19 m/s | 1,620 kWh | $247 |
| March | 6.52 m/s | 2,002 kWh | $306 |
| April | 7.00 m/s | 2,226 kWh | $340 |
| May | 6.49 m/s | 1,979 kWh | $302 |
| June | 6.49 m/s | 1,915 kWh | $292 |
| July | 5.83 m/s | 1,569 kWh | $239 |
| August | 5.71 m/s | 1,490 kWh | $227 |
| September | 6.42 m/s | 1,877 kWh | $286 |
| October | 6.31 m/s | 1,867 kWh | $285 |
| November | 6.31 m/s | 1,807 kWh | $276 |
| December | 6.01 m/s | 1,681 kWh | $257 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Hamilton County averages 4.93 m/s; at 50 m it is 7 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.218, typical of ordinary open country. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 17,730 to 27,043 kWh a year, 53% 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 | 5.73 m/s | 17,730 kWh | 37 years |
| 30 m | 6.26 m/s | 21,649 kWh | 30 years |
| 40 m | 6.67 m/s | 24,638 kWh | 27 years |
| 50 m | 7 m/s | 27,043 kWh | 24 years |
Counties around Hamilton County
4 of the 6 closest counties are windier at turbine height; the windiest, Stanton County, averages 6.44 m/s.
- Kearny County, KS: 6.4 m/s, 22,669 kWh, payback 29 years (26 mi)
- Stanton County, KS: 6.44 m/s, 22,964 kWh, payback 29 years (30 mi)
- Prowers County, CO: 6.15 m/s, 20,816 kWh, payback 29 years (33 mi)
- Greeley County, KS: 6.26 m/s, 21,632 kWh, payback 30 years (34 mi)
- Grant County, KS: 6.43 m/s, 22,891 kWh, payback 29 years (41 mi)
- Wichita County, KS: 6.37 m/s, 22,447 kWh, payback 29 years (41 mi)
Sun versus wind in Hamilton County
Hamilton County gets 5.04 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,472 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 2,163. This is one of the rare places where a kilowatt of turbine out-produces a kilowatt of panels, by 1.5 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.