Wind Turbine Payback in Huerfano County, CO
Wind turbine payback in Huerfano 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 Huerfano County, CO averages 5.51 m/s (12.3 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 16,109 kWh a year, worth $2,706 at CO's 16.8¢/kWh. Against an installed cost of about $100,000, that is a payback of 37 years, and the turbine is built to last about 20.
What to do in Huerfano County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Huerfano County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 7.4 m/s at the hub against 5.51 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,513 kWh a year here against the turbine's 1,611, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 31¢/kWh, 1.8 times what CO pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 7.4 m/s instead of 5.51. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of CO
Huerfano County is the 1,215th 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 Huerfano County
December is the strongest month here, at 6.46 m/s and about 1,963 kWh. July is the weakest, 3.94 m/s and 534 kWh, so the best month makes 3.7 times the worst. November to March brings in 55% of the year's output in Huerfano County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 6.30 m/s | 1,863 kWh | $313 |
| February | 6.48 m/s | 1,783 kWh | $300 |
| March | 6.25 m/s | 1,830 kWh | $307 |
| April | 6.29 m/s | 1,798 kWh | $302 |
| May | 5.30 m/s | 1,242 kWh | $209 |
| June | 4.97 m/s | 1,012 kWh | $170 |
| July | 3.94 m/s | 534 kWh | $90 |
| August | 3.98 m/s | 549 kWh | $92 |
| September | 4.70 m/s | 870 kWh | $146 |
| October | 5.40 m/s | 1,301 kWh | $219 |
| November | 6.05 m/s | 1,652 kWh | $278 |
| December | 6.46 m/s | 1,963 kWh | $330 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Huerfano County averages 4.22 m/s; at 50 m it is 6.23 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.242, typical of ordinary open country. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 12,474 to 21,410 kWh a year, 72% 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 | 4.99 m/s | 12,474 kWh | 48 years |
| 30 m | 5.51 m/s | 16,077 kWh | 37 years |
| 40 m | 5.9 m/s | 18,982 kWh | 31 years |
| 50 m | 6.23 m/s | 21,410 kWh | 28 years |
Counties around Huerfano County
1 of the 6 closest counties is windier at turbine height; the windiest, Las Animas County, averages 6.19 m/s.
- Custer County, CO: 4.56 m/s, 9,702 kWh, payback 61 years (36 mi)
- Costilla County, CO: 4.5 m/s, 9,339 kWh, payback 64 years (38 mi)
- Pueblo County, CO: 5.18 m/s, 13,768 kWh, payback 43 years (42 mi)
- Alamosa County, CO: 4.5 m/s, 9,339 kWh, payback 64 years (46 mi)
- Las Animas County, CO: 6.19 m/s, 21,113 kWh, payback 28 years (56 mi)
- Fremont County, CO: 4.87 m/s, 11,668 kWh, payback 51 years (59 mi)
Sun versus wind in Huerfano County
Huerfano County gets 5.18 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,513 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 1,611. This is one of the rare places where a kilowatt of turbine out-produces a kilowatt of panels, by 1.1 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.