Wind Turbine Payback in Lincoln County, OR
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, OR averages 3.57 m/s (8 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 4,612 kWh a year, worth $713 at OR's 15.46¢/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 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 3.57 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,133 kWh a year here against the turbine's 461, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 108¢/kWh, 7.0 times what OR pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 7.8 m/s instead of 3.57. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of OR
Lincoln County is the 2,441st windiest of 3,144 US counties at turbine height; the national middle is 4.79 m/s. The windiest in OR is Gilliam County at 5.48 m/s, payback 41 years.
Month by month in Lincoln County
December is the strongest month here, at 4.17 m/s and about 633 kWh. August is the weakest, 3.11 m/s and 248 kWh, so the best month makes 2.6 times the worst. November to March brings in 56% of the year's output in Lincoln County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 4.08 m/s | 592 kWh | $92 |
| February | 3.69 m/s | 392 kWh | $61 |
| March | 3.81 m/s | 483 kWh | $75 |
| April | 3.49 m/s | 354 kWh | $55 |
| May | 3.21 m/s | 277 kWh | $43 |
| June | 3.27 m/s | 284 kWh | $44 |
| July | 3.27 m/s | 294 kWh | $45 |
| August | 3.11 m/s | 248 kWh | $38 |
| September | 3.18 m/s | 261 kWh | $40 |
| October | 3.54 m/s | 383 kWh | $59 |
| November | 3.99 m/s | 537 kWh | $83 |
| December | 4.17 m/s | 633 kWh | $98 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Lincoln County averages 2.48 m/s; at 50 m it is 4.23 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.332, typical of rough, sheltered ground: trees or buildings slow the low wind a lot. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 2,972 to 7,787 kWh a year, 162% 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 | 3.12 m/s | 2,972 kWh | over 100 years |
| 30 m | 3.57 m/s | 4,612 kWh | over 100 years |
| 40 m | 3.93 m/s | 6,221 kWh | over 100 years |
| 50 m | 4.23 m/s | 7,787 kWh | 83 years |
Counties around Lincoln County
1 of the 6 closest counties is windier at turbine height; the windiest, Tillamook County, averages 4.01 m/s.
- Benton County, OR: 3.42 m/s, 4,018 kWh, payback over 100 years (26 mi)
- Polk County, OR: 3.46 m/s, 4,172 kWh, payback over 100 years (31 mi)
- Yamhill County, OR: 3.46 m/s, 4,172 kWh, payback over 100 years (51 mi)
- Tillamook County, OR: 4.01 m/s, 6,628 kWh, payback 98 years (57 mi)
- Marion County, OR: 3.23 m/s, 3,333 kWh, payback over 100 years (68 mi)
- Linn County, OR: 2.9 m/s, 2,315 kWh, payback over 100 years (68 mi)
Sun versus wind in Lincoln County
Lincoln County gets 3.88 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,133 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 461. Kilowatt for kilowatt, panels make 2.5 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.