Wind Turbine Payback in Larimer County, CO
Wind turbine payback in Larimer 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 Larimer County, CO averages 5.04 m/s (11.3 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 12,805 kWh a year, worth $2,151 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 Larimer County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Larimer County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 7.4 m/s at the hub against 5.04 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,337 kWh a year here against the turbine's 1,281, 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 5.04. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of CO
Larimer County is the 1,436th 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 Larimer County
January is the strongest month here, at 6.58 m/s and about 2,038 kWh. July is the weakest, 3.44 m/s and 348 kWh, so the best month makes 5.9 times the worst. November to March brings in 64% of the year's output in Larimer County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 6.58 m/s | 2,038 kWh | $342 |
| February | 6.18 m/s | 1,616 kWh | $271 |
| March | 5.77 m/s | 1,529 kWh | $257 |
| April | 5.23 m/s | 1,158 kWh | $195 |
| May | 4.36 m/s | 725 kWh | $122 |
| June | 4.09 m/s | 577 kWh | $97 |
| July | 3.44 m/s | 348 kWh | $58 |
| August | 3.50 m/s | 368 kWh | $62 |
| September | 4.05 m/s | 563 kWh | $95 |
| October | 5.07 m/s | 1,105 kWh | $186 |
| November | 5.90 m/s | 1,558 kWh | $262 |
| December | 6.37 m/s | 1,908 kWh | $321 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Larimer County averages 3.66 m/s; at 50 m it is 5.84 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.290, typical of ordinary open country. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 9,203 to 18,521 kWh a year, 101% 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 | 4.48 m/s | 9,203 kWh | 65 years |
| 30 m | 5.04 m/s | 12,777 kWh | 47 years |
| 40 m | 5.47 m/s | 15,850 kWh | 38 years |
| 50 m | 5.84 m/s | 18,521 kWh | 32 years |
Counties around Larimer County
None of the 6 closest counties is windier than Larimer County.
- Boulder County, CO: 4.87 m/s, 11,668 kWh, payback 51 years (39 mi)
- Jackson County, CO: 3.69 m/s, 5,121 kWh, payback over 100 years (44 mi)
- Grand County, CO: 3.36 m/s, 3,794 kWh, payback over 100 years (50 mi)
- Broomfield County, CO: 4.76 m/s, 10,954 kWh, payback 54 years (54 mi)
- Gilpin County, CO: 4.87 m/s, 11,668 kWh, payback 51 years (55 mi)
- Weld County, CO: 4.95 m/s, 12,199 kWh, payback 49 years (58 mi)
Sun versus wind in Larimer County
Larimer County gets 4.58 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,337 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 1,281. Kilowatt for kilowatt, panels make 1.0 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.