Wind Turbine Payback in Hot Springs County, WY
Wind turbine payback in Hot Springs 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 Hot Springs County, WY averages 4.66 m/s (10.4 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 10,320 kWh a year, worth $1,446 at WY's 14.01¢/kWh. Against an installed cost of about $100,000, that is a payback of 69 years, and the turbine is built to last about 20.
What to do in Hot Springs County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Hot Springs County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 8.3 m/s at the hub against 4.66 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,340 kWh a year here against the turbine's 1,032, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 48¢/kWh, 3.5 times what WY pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 8.3 m/s instead of 4.66. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of WY
Hot Springs County is the 1,645th 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 Hot Springs County
March is the strongest month here, at 5.20 m/s and about 1,181 kWh. August is the weakest, 3.90 m/s and 517 kWh, so the best month makes 2.3 times the worst. November to March brings in 51% of the year's output in Hot Springs County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 5.01 m/s | 1,072 kWh | $150 |
| February | 4.99 m/s | 955 kWh | $134 |
| March | 5.20 m/s | 1,181 kWh | $165 |
| April | 5.00 m/s | 1,033 kWh | $145 |
| May | 4.51 m/s | 801 kWh | $112 |
| June | 4.35 m/s | 698 kWh | $98 |
| July | 3.91 m/s | 521 kWh | $73 |
| August | 3.90 m/s | 517 kWh | $72 |
| September | 4.32 m/s | 681 kWh | $95 |
| October | 4.64 m/s | 866 kWh | $121 |
| November | 4.97 m/s | 1,013 kWh | $142 |
| December | 5.09 m/s | 1,119 kWh | $157 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Hot Springs County averages 3.63 m/s; at 50 m it is 5.23 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.227, typical of ordinary open country. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 7,885 to 14,116 kWh a year, 79% 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 | 4.25 m/s | 7,885 kWh | 91 years |
| 30 m | 4.66 m/s | 10,303 kWh | 69 years |
| 40 m | 4.97 m/s | 12,344 kWh | 58 years |
| 50 m | 5.23 m/s | 14,116 kWh | 51 years |
Counties around Hot Springs County
3 of the 6 closest counties are windier at turbine height; the windiest, Natrona County, averages 6.38 m/s.
- Washakie County, WY: 4.36 m/s, 8,517 kWh, payback 84 years (40 mi)
- Fremont County, WY: 5.48 m/s, 15,893 kWh, payback 45 years (47 mi)
- Big Horn County, WY: 4.34 m/s, 8,403 kWh, payback 85 years (60 mi)
- Park County, WY: 4.5 m/s, 9,339 kWh, payback 76 years (78 mi)
- Johnson County, WY: 4.98 m/s, 12,400 kWh, payback 58 years (95 mi)
- Natrona County, WY: 6.38 m/s, 22,521 kWh, payback 32 years (98 mi)
Sun versus wind in Hot Springs County
Hot Springs 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 1,032. Kilowatt for kilowatt, panels make 1.3 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.