Wind Turbine Payback in Harney County, OR
Wind turbine payback in Harney 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 Harney County, OR averages 4.99 m/s (11.2 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 12,467 kWh a year, worth $1,927 at OR's 15.46¢/kWh. Against an installed cost of about $100,000, that is a payback of 52 years, and the turbine is built to last about 20.
What to do in Harney County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Harney County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 7.8 m/s at the hub against 4.99 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,329 kWh a year here against the turbine's 1,247, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 40¢/kWh, 2.6 times what OR pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 7.8 m/s instead of 4.99. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of OR
Harney County is the 1,457th windiest of 3,144 US counties at turbine height; the national middle is 4.79 m/s. The windiest in OR is Gilliam County at 5.48 m/s, payback 41 years.
Month by month in Harney County
December is the strongest month here, at 5.87 m/s and about 1,595 kWh. August is the weakest, 3.98 m/s and 550 kWh, so the best month makes 2.9 times the worst. November to March brings in 57% of the year's output in Harney County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 5.68 m/s | 1,471 kWh | $227 |
| February | 5.64 m/s | 1,309 kWh | $202 |
| March | 5.73 m/s | 1,505 kWh | $233 |
| April | 5.27 m/s | 1,185 kWh | $183 |
| May | 4.75 m/s | 926 kWh | $143 |
| June | 4.50 m/s | 768 kWh | $119 |
| July | 3.98 m/s | 550 kWh | $85 |
| August | 3.98 m/s | 550 kWh | $85 |
| September | 4.16 m/s | 608 kWh | $94 |
| October | 4.74 m/s | 921 kWh | $142 |
| November | 5.58 m/s | 1,365 kWh | $211 |
| December | 5.87 m/s | 1,595 kWh | $247 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Harney County averages 3.96 m/s; at 50 m it is 5.55 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.210, typical of ordinary open country. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 9,815 to 16,399 kWh a year, 67% 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 | 4.58 m/s | 9,815 kWh | 66 years |
| 30 m | 4.99 m/s | 12,437 kWh | 52 years |
| 40 m | 5.3 m/s | 14,580 kWh | 44 years |
| 50 m | 5.55 m/s | 16,399 kWh | 39 years |
Counties around Harney County
None of the 6 closest counties is windier than Harney County.
- Malheur County, OR: 4.65 m/s, 10,257 kWh, payback 63 years (70 mi)
- Lake County, OR: 4.75 m/s, 10,890 kWh, payback 59 years (73 mi)
- Grant County, OR: 3.34 m/s, 3,720 kWh, payback over 100 years (99 mi)
- Crook County, OR: 4.99 m/s, 12,467 kWh, payback 52 years (103 mi)
- Canyon County, ID: 4.3 m/s, 8,176 kWh, payback 94 years (121 mi)
- Humboldt County, NV: 3.8 m/s, 5,614 kWh, payback over 100 years (123 mi)
Sun versus wind in Harney County
Harney County gets 4.55 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,329 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 1,247. Kilowatt for kilowatt, panels make 1.1 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.