Wind Turbine Payback in Lincoln County, KS
Wind turbine payback in Lincoln 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 Lincoln County, KS averages 6.36 m/s (14.2 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 22,373 kWh a year, worth $3,414 at KS's 15.26¢/kWh. Against an installed cost of about $100,000, that is a payback of 29 years, and the turbine is built to last about 20.
What to do in Lincoln County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Lincoln County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 7.8 m/s at the hub against 6.36 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,332 kWh a year here against the turbine's 2,237, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 22¢/kWh, 1.5 times what KS pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 7.8 m/s instead of 6.36. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of KS
Lincoln County is the 393rd windiest of 3,144 US counties at turbine height; the national middle is 4.79 m/s. The windiest in KS is Edwards County at 6.68 m/s, payback 27 years.
Month by month in Lincoln County
April is the strongest month here, at 7.20 m/s and about 2,342 kWh. August is the weakest, 5.46 m/s and 1,340 kWh, so the best month makes 1.7 times the worst. November to March brings in 42% of the year's output in Lincoln County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 6.18 m/s | 1,786 kWh | $273 |
| February | 6.27 m/s | 1,664 kWh | $254 |
| March | 6.79 m/s | 2,171 kWh | $331 |
| April | 7.20 m/s | 2,342 kWh | $357 |
| May | 6.48 m/s | 1,977 kWh | $302 |
| June | 6.54 m/s | 1,945 kWh | $297 |
| July | 5.63 m/s | 1,444 kWh | $220 |
| August | 5.46 m/s | 1,340 kWh | $204 |
| September | 6.43 m/s | 1,880 kWh | $287 |
| October | 6.60 m/s | 2,049 kWh | $313 |
| November | 6.53 m/s | 1,940 kWh | $296 |
| December | 6.16 m/s | 1,774 kWh | $271 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Lincoln County averages 4.98 m/s; at 50 m it is 7.12 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.222, typical of ordinary open country. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 18,296 to 27,897 kWh a year, 52% 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 | 5.81 m/s | 18,296 kWh | 36 years |
| 30 m | 6.36 m/s | 22,348 kWh | 29 years |
| 40 m | 6.78 m/s | 25,427 kWh | 26 years |
| 50 m | 7.12 m/s | 27,897 kWh | 24 years |
Counties around Lincoln County
2 of the 6 closest counties are windier at turbine height; the windiest, Ellsworth County, averages 6.54 m/s.
- Mitchell County, KS: 6.26 m/s, 21,632 kWh, payback 30 years (24 mi)
- Ellsworth County, KS: 6.54 m/s, 23,702 kWh, payback 28 years (24 mi)
- Ottawa County, KS: 6.31 m/s, 22,003 kWh, payback 30 years (31 mi)
- Russell County, KS: 6.43 m/s, 22,891 kWh, payback 29 years (31 mi)
- Saline County, KS: 6.31 m/s, 22,003 kWh, payback 30 years (35 mi)
- Osborne County, KS: 6.27 m/s, 21,706 kWh, payback 30 years (36 mi)
Sun versus wind in Lincoln County
Lincoln County gets 4.56 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,332 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 2,237. This is one of the rare places where a kilowatt of turbine out-produces a kilowatt of panels, by 1.7 times. 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.