Wind Turbine Payback in Jackson County, CO
Wind turbine payback in Jackson 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 Jackson County, CO averages 3.69 m/s (8.3 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 5,121 kWh a year, worth $860 at CO's 16.8¢/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 Jackson County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Jackson County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 7.4 m/s at the hub against 3.69 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,372 kWh a year here against the turbine's 512, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 98¢/kWh, 5.8 times what CO pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 7.4 m/s instead of 3.69. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of CO
Jackson County is the 2,300th 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 Jackson County
March is the strongest month here, at 4.12 m/s and about 612 kWh. July is the weakest, 2.79 m/s and 172 kWh, so the best month makes 3.6 times the worst. November to March brings in 55% of the year's output in Jackson County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 4.09 m/s | 597 kWh | $100 |
| February | 4.23 m/s | 597 kWh | $100 |
| March | 4.12 m/s | 612 kWh | $103 |
| April | 4.12 m/s | 592 kWh | $99 |
| May | 3.53 m/s | 379 kWh | $64 |
| June | 3.40 m/s | 325 kWh | $55 |
| July | 2.79 m/s | 172 kWh | $29 |
| August | 2.84 m/s | 183 kWh | $31 |
| September | 3.25 m/s | 280 kWh | $47 |
| October | 3.79 m/s | 473 kWh | $79 |
| November | 4.07 m/s | 571 kWh | $96 |
| December | 4.12 m/s | 612 kWh | $103 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Jackson County averages 2.46 m/s; at 50 m it is 4.46 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.370, typical of rough, sheltered ground: trees or buildings slow the low wind a lot. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 3,157 to 9,100 kWh a year, 188% 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 | 3.18 m/s | 3,157 kWh | over 100 years |
| 30 m | 3.69 m/s | 5,129 kWh | over 100 years |
| 40 m | 4.11 m/s | 7,125 kWh | 84 years |
| 50 m | 4.46 m/s | 9,100 kWh | 65 years |
Counties around Jackson County
3 of the 6 closest counties are windier at turbine height; the windiest, Larimer County, averages 5.04 m/s.
- Routt County, CO: 3.63 m/s, 4,862 kWh, payback over 100 years (37 mi)
- Grand County, CO: 3.36 m/s, 3,794 kWh, payback over 100 years (40 mi)
- Larimer County, CO: 5.04 m/s, 12,805 kWh, payback 47 years (44 mi)
- Boulder County, CO: 4.87 m/s, 11,668 kWh, payback 51 years (63 mi)
- Gilpin County, CO: 4.87 m/s, 11,668 kWh, payback 51 years (70 mi)
- Summit County, CO: 3.59 m/s, 4,694 kWh, payback over 100 years (73 mi)
Sun versus wind in Jackson County
Jackson County gets 4.7 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,372 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 512. Kilowatt for kilowatt, panels make 2.7 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.