Wind Turbine Payback in Hood River County, OR
Wind turbine payback in Hood River 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 Hood River County, OR averages 3.14 m/s (7 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 3,034 kWh a year, worth $469 at OR's 15.46¢/kWh. Against an installed cost of about $100,000, that is a payback of over 100 years, and the turbine is built to last about 20.
What to do in Hood River County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Hood River County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 7.8 m/s at the hub against 3.14 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,229 kWh a year here against the turbine's 303, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 165¢/kWh, 10.7 times what OR pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 7.8 m/s instead of 3.14. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of OR
Hood River County is the 2,952nd 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 Hood River County
January is the strongest month here, at 3.71 m/s and about 443 kWh. August is the weakest, 2.65 m/s and 143 kWh, so the best month makes 3.1 times the worst. November to March brings in 59% of the year's output in Hood River County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 3.71 m/s | 443 kWh | $68 |
| February | 3.48 m/s | 327 kWh | $51 |
| March | 3.32 m/s | 309 kWh | $48 |
| April | 3.08 m/s | 233 kWh | $36 |
| May | 2.86 m/s | 186 kWh | $29 |
| June | 2.87 m/s | 184 kWh | $28 |
| July | 2.70 m/s | 153 kWh | $24 |
| August | 2.65 m/s | 143 kWh | $22 |
| September | 2.76 m/s | 159 kWh | $25 |
| October | 3.10 m/s | 248 kWh | $38 |
| November | 3.55 m/s | 372 kWh | $58 |
| December | 3.66 m/s | 425 kWh | $66 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Hood River County averages 2.07 m/s; at 50 m it is 3.82 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.381, typical of rough, sheltered ground: trees or buildings slow the low wind a lot. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 1,783 to 5,707 kWh a year, 220% 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 | 2.69 m/s | 1,783 kWh | over 100 years |
| 30 m | 3.14 m/s | 3,048 kWh | over 100 years |
| 40 m | 3.51 m/s | 4,363 kWh | over 100 years |
| 50 m | 3.82 m/s | 5,707 kWh | over 100 years |
Counties around Hood River County
4 of the 6 closest counties are windier at turbine height; the windiest, Sherman County, averages 4.8 m/s.
- Wasco County, OR: 3.62 m/s, 4,820 kWh, payback over 100 years (34 mi)
- Clackamas County, OR: 3.23 m/s, 3,333 kWh, payback over 100 years (36 mi)
- Multnomah County, OR: 3.39 m/s, 3,905 kWh, payback over 100 years (37 mi)
- Skamania County, WA: 3.12 m/s, 2,970 kWh, payback over 100 years (38 mi)
- Clark County, WA: 2.96 m/s, 2,484 kWh, payback over 100 years (44 mi)
- Sherman County, OR: 4.8 m/s, 11,212 kWh, payback 58 years (48 mi)
Sun versus wind in Hood River County
Hood River County gets 4.21 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,229 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 303. Kilowatt for kilowatt, panels make 4.1 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.