Wind Turbine Payback in Lake County, CO
Wind turbine payback in Lake 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 Lake County, CO averages 5.03 m/s (11.3 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 12,737 kWh a year, worth $2,140 at CO's 16.8¢/kWh. Against an installed cost of about $100,000, that is a payback of 47 years, and the turbine is built to last about 20.
What to do in Lake County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Lake County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 7.4 m/s at the hub against 5.03 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,407 kWh a year here against the turbine's 1,274, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 39¢/kWh, 2.3 times what CO pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 7.4 m/s instead of 5.03. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of CO
Lake County is the 1,441st 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 Lake County
December is the strongest month here, at 6.07 m/s and about 1,718 kWh. July is the weakest, 3.15 m/s and 261 kWh, so the best month makes 6.6 times the worst. November to March brings in 59% of the year's output in Lake County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 6.02 m/s | 1,684 kWh | $283 |
| February | 6.13 m/s | 1,588 kWh | $267 |
| March | 5.66 m/s | 1,463 kWh | $246 |
| April | 5.81 m/s | 1,503 kWh | $253 |
| May | 4.85 m/s | 979 kWh | $164 |
| June | 4.41 m/s | 725 kWh | $122 |
| July | 3.15 m/s | 261 kWh | $44 |
| August | 3.27 m/s | 295 kWh | $50 |
| September | 4.07 m/s | 569 kWh | $96 |
| October | 5.27 m/s | 1,225 kWh | $206 |
| November | 5.74 m/s | 1,459 kWh | $245 |
| December | 6.07 m/s | 1,718 kWh | $289 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Lake County averages 4.07 m/s; at 50 m it is 5.55 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.193, typical of ordinary open country. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 10,260 to 16,399 kWh a year, 60% 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 | 4.65 m/s | 10,260 kWh | 58 years |
| 30 m | 5.03 m/s | 12,730 kWh | 47 years |
| 40 m | 5.32 m/s | 14,722 kWh | 40 years |
| 50 m | 5.55 m/s | 16,399 kWh | 36 years |
Counties around Lake County
1 of the 6 closest counties is windier at turbine height; the windiest, Park County, averages 5.21 m/s.
- Pitkin County, CO: 3.5 m/s, 4,329 kWh, payback over 100 years (30 mi)
- Summit County, CO: 3.59 m/s, 4,694 kWh, payback over 100 years (31 mi)
- Chaffee County, CO: 5.01 m/s, 12,602 kWh, payback 47 years (33 mi)
- Park County, CO: 5.21 m/s, 13,976 kWh, payback 43 years (34 mi)
- Eagle County, CO: 3.34 m/s, 3,720 kWh, payback over 100 years (34 mi)
- Clear Creek County, CO: 4.63 m/s, 10,132 kWh, payback 59 years (49 mi)
Sun versus wind in Lake County
Lake County gets 4.82 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,407 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 1,274. 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.