Wind Turbine Payback in Lincoln County, WA
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, WA averages 4.88 m/s (10.9 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 11,734 kWh a year, worth $1,692 at WA's 14.42¢/kWh. Against an installed cost of about $100,000, that is a payback of 59 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, 8.1 m/s at the hub against 4.88 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,200 kWh a year here against the turbine's 1,173, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 43¢/kWh, 3.0 times what WA pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 8.1 m/s instead of 4.88. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of WA
Lincoln County is the 1,517th windiest of 3,144 US counties at turbine height; the national middle is 4.79 m/s. The windiest in WA is Columbia County at 5.18 m/s, payback 50 years.
Month by month in Lincoln County
March is the strongest month here, at 5.58 m/s and about 1,414 kWh. August is the weakest, 4.19 m/s and 642 kWh, so the best month makes 2.2 times the worst. November to March brings in 50% of the year's output in Lincoln County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 5.18 m/s | 1,172 kWh | $169 |
| February | 5.13 m/s | 1,030 kWh | $149 |
| March | 5.58 m/s | 1,414 kWh | $204 |
| April | 5.17 m/s | 1,129 kWh | $163 |
| May | 4.67 m/s | 881 kWh | $127 |
| June | 4.62 m/s | 830 kWh | $120 |
| July | 4.32 m/s | 705 kWh | $102 |
| August | 4.19 m/s | 642 kWh | $93 |
| September | 4.49 m/s | 763 kWh | $110 |
| October | 4.94 m/s | 1,032 kWh | $149 |
| November | 5.25 m/s | 1,175 kWh | $169 |
| December | 5.07 m/s | 1,104 kWh | $159 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Lincoln County averages 3.79 m/s; at 50 m it is 5.49 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.230, typical of ordinary open country. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 9,022 to 15,965 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 | 4.45 m/s | 9,022 kWh | 77 years |
| 30 m | 4.88 m/s | 11,744 kWh | 59 years |
| 40 m | 5.22 m/s | 14,014 kWh | 50 years |
| 50 m | 5.49 m/s | 15,965 kWh | 43 years |
Counties around Lincoln County
None of the 6 closest counties is windier than Lincoln County.
- Adams County, WA: 4.83 m/s, 11,407 kWh, payback 61 years (40 mi)
- Spokane County, WA: 4.42 m/s, 8,865 kWh, payback 78 years (47 mi)
- Grant County, WA: 4.55 m/s, 9,641 kWh, payback 72 years (55 mi)
- Douglas County, WA: 3.61 m/s, 4,778 kWh, payback over 100 years (60 mi)
- Stevens County, WA: 2.55 m/s, 1,456 kWh, payback over 100 years (61 mi)
- Ferry County, WA: 2.74 m/s, 1,895 kWh, payback over 100 years (62 mi)
Sun versus wind in Lincoln County
Lincoln County gets 4.11 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,200 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 1,173. 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.