Wind Turbine Payback in Iron County, UT
Wind turbine payback in Iron 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 Iron County, UT averages 5.21 m/s (11.7 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 13,976 kWh a year, worth $1,843 at UT's 13.19¢/kWh. Against an installed cost of about $100,000, that is a payback of 54 years, and the turbine is built to last about 20.
What to do in Iron County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Iron County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 8.7 m/s at the hub against 5.21 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,577 kWh a year here against the turbine's 1,398, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 36¢/kWh, 2.7 times what UT pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 8.7 m/s instead of 5.21. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of UT
Iron County is the 1,373rd windiest of 3,144 US counties at turbine height; the national middle is 4.79 m/s. The windiest in UT is Daggett County at 5.32 m/s, payback 51 years.
Month by month in Iron County
April is the strongest month here, at 6.05 m/s and about 1,652 kWh. July is the weakest, 4.56 m/s and 823 kWh, so the best month makes 2.0 times the worst. November to March brings in 41% of the year's output in Iron County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 4.85 m/s | 982 kWh | $130 |
| February | 5.26 m/s | 1,097 kWh | $145 |
| March | 5.70 m/s | 1,483 kWh | $196 |
| April | 6.05 m/s | 1,652 kWh | $218 |
| May | 5.52 m/s | 1,372 kWh | $181 |
| June | 5.78 m/s | 1,484 kWh | $196 |
| July | 4.56 m/s | 823 kWh | $109 |
| August | 4.78 m/s | 942 kWh | $124 |
| September | 4.98 m/s | 1,019 kWh | $134 |
| October | 4.96 m/s | 1,042 kWh | $137 |
| November | 5.12 m/s | 1,099 kWh | $145 |
| December | 5.06 m/s | 1,099 kWh | $145 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Iron County averages 4.11 m/s; at 50 m it is 5.82 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.216, typical of ordinary open country. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 11,050 to 18,374 kWh a year, 66% 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 | 4.77 m/s | 11,050 kWh | 69 years |
| 30 m | 5.21 m/s | 13,990 kWh | 54 years |
| 40 m | 5.55 m/s | 16,371 kWh | 46 years |
| 50 m | 5.82 m/s | 18,374 kWh | 41 years |
Counties around Iron County
None of the 6 closest counties is windier than Iron County.
- Beaver County, UT: 4.7 m/s, 10,571 kWh, payback 72 years (31 mi)
- Washington County, UT: 5.14 m/s, 13,490 kWh, payback 56 years (46 mi)
- Piute County, UT: 4.02 m/s, 6,678 kWh, payback over 100 years (70 mi)
- Millard County, UT: 4.53 m/s, 9,519 kWh, payback 80 years (73 mi)
- Lincoln County, NV: 4.67 m/s, 10,382 kWh, payback 72 years (87 mi)
- Kane County, UT: 4.9 m/s, 11,866 kWh, payback 64 years (93 mi)
Sun versus wind in Iron County
Iron County gets 5.4 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,577 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 1,398. 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.