Wind Turbine Payback in Humboldt County, NV
Wind turbine payback in Humboldt 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 Humboldt County, NV averages 3.8 m/s (8.5 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 5,614 kWh a year, worth $750 at NV's 13.36¢/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 Humboldt County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Humboldt County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 8.6 m/s at the hub against 3.8 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,405 kWh a year here against the turbine's 561, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 89¢/kWh, 6.7 times what NV pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 8.6 m/s instead of 3.8. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of NV
Humboldt County is the 2,206th windiest of 3,144 US counties at turbine height; the national middle is 4.79 m/s. The windiest in NV is Nye County at 4.71 m/s, payback 70 years.
Month by month in Humboldt County
March is the strongest month here, at 4.29 m/s and about 688 kWh. September is the weakest, 3.46 m/s and 344 kWh, so the best month makes 2.0 times the worst. November to March brings in 43% of the year's output in Humboldt County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 3.46 m/s | 355 kWh | $47 |
| February | 3.98 m/s | 496 kWh | $66 |
| March | 4.29 m/s | 688 kWh | $92 |
| April | 4.31 m/s | 678 kWh | $91 |
| May | 3.99 m/s | 553 kWh | $74 |
| June | 3.93 m/s | 514 kWh | $69 |
| July | 3.54 m/s | 380 kWh | $51 |
| August | 3.54 m/s | 380 kWh | $51 |
| September | 3.46 m/s | 344 kWh | $46 |
| October | 3.54 m/s | 383 kWh | $51 |
| November | 3.73 m/s | 434 kWh | $58 |
| December | 3.84 m/s | 494 kWh | $66 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Humboldt County averages 3.06 m/s; at 50 m it is 4.2 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.197, typical of ordinary open country. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 4,354 to 7,623 kWh a year, 75% 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 | 3.51 m/s | 4,354 kWh | over 100 years |
| 30 m | 3.8 m/s | 5,605 kWh | over 100 years |
| 40 m | 4.02 m/s | 6,675 kWh | over 100 years |
| 50 m | 4.2 m/s | 7,623 kWh | 98 years |
Counties around Humboldt County
4 of the 6 closest counties are windier at turbine height; the windiest, Owyhee County, averages 5.38 m/s.
- Pershing County, NV: 3.52 m/s, 4,408 kWh, payback over 100 years (69 mi)
- Washoe County, NV: 3.61 m/s, 4,778 kWh, payback over 100 years (93 mi)
- Lander County, NV: 4.15 m/s, 7,354 kWh, payback over 100 years (119 mi)
- Harney County, OR: 4.99 m/s, 12,467 kWh, payback 52 years (123 mi)
- Malheur County, OR: 4.65 m/s, 10,257 kWh, payback 63 years (126 mi)
- Owyhee County, ID: 5.38 m/s, 15,176 kWh, payback 51 years (128 mi)
Sun versus wind in Humboldt County
Humboldt County gets 4.81 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,405 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 561. Kilowatt for kilowatt, panels make 2.5 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.