Wind Turbine Payback in La Paz County, AZ
Wind turbine payback in La Paz 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 La Paz County, AZ averages 4.54 m/s (10.2 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 9,580 kWh a year, worth $1,471 at AZ's 15.36¢/kWh. Against an installed cost of about $100,000, that is a payback of 68 years, and the turbine is built to last about 20.
What to do in La Paz County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in La Paz County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 7.8 m/s at the hub against 4.54 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,723 kWh a year here against the turbine's 958, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 52¢/kWh, 3.4 times what AZ pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 7.8 m/s instead of 4.54. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of AZ
La Paz County is the 1,727th windiest of 3,144 US counties at turbine height; the national middle is 4.79 m/s. The windiest in AZ is Apache County at 5.25 m/s, payback 46 years.
Month by month in La Paz County
April is the strongest month here, at 5.17 m/s and about 1,125 kWh. August is the weakest, 3.97 m/s and 546 kWh, so the best month makes 2.1 times the worst. November to March brings in 45% of the year's output in La Paz County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 4.78 m/s | 943 kWh | $145 |
| February | 4.55 m/s | 740 kWh | $114 |
| March | 4.77 m/s | 934 kWh | $143 |
| April | 5.17 m/s | 1,125 kWh | $173 |
| May | 4.78 m/s | 943 kWh | $145 |
| June | 4.64 m/s | 838 kWh | $129 |
| July | 4.22 m/s | 657 kWh | $101 |
| August | 3.97 m/s | 546 kWh | $84 |
| September | 4.07 m/s | 569 kWh | $87 |
| October | 4.30 m/s | 695 kWh | $107 |
| November | 4.59 m/s | 811 kWh | $125 |
| December | 4.70 m/s | 900 kWh | $138 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in La Paz County averages 3.57 m/s; at 50 m it is 5.08 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.219, typical of ordinary open country. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 7,388 to 13,078 kWh a year, 77% 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 | 4.16 m/s | 7,388 kWh | 88 years |
| 30 m | 4.54 m/s | 9,594 kWh | 68 years |
| 40 m | 4.84 m/s | 11,457 kWh | 57 years |
| 50 m | 5.08 m/s | 13,078 kWh | 50 years |
Counties around La Paz County
2 of the 6 closest counties are windier at turbine height; the windiest, Mohave County, averages 4.69 m/s.
- Yuma County, AZ: 4.57 m/s, 9,763 kWh, payback 67 years (66 mi)
- Imperial County, CA: 4.5 m/s, 9,339 kWh, payback 33 years (90 mi)
- Maricopa County, AZ: 4.09 m/s, 7,038 kWh, payback 93 years (93 mi)
- Yavapai County, AZ: 4.44 m/s, 8,982 kWh, payback 73 years (104 mi)
- Riverside County, CA: 3.95 m/s, 6,329 kWh, payback 49 years (113 mi)
- Mohave County, AZ: 4.69 m/s, 10,508 kWh, payback 62 years (138 mi)
Sun versus wind in La Paz County
La Paz County gets 5.9 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,723 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 958. Kilowatt for kilowatt, panels make 1.8 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.