Wind Turbine Payback in Lincoln County, WY
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, WY averages 4.83 m/s (10.8 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 11,407 kWh a year, worth $1,598 at WY's 14.01¢/kWh. Against an installed cost of about $100,000, that is a payback of 63 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, 8.3 m/s at the hub against 4.83 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,361 kWh a year here against the turbine's 1,141, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 44¢/kWh, 3.1 times what WY pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 8.3 m/s instead of 4.83. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of WY
Lincoln County is the 1,542nd windiest of 3,144 US counties at turbine height; the national middle is 4.79 m/s. The windiest in WY is Albany County at 7.32 m/s, payback 24 years.
Month by month in Lincoln County
January is the strongest month here, at 5.32 m/s and about 1,252 kWh. July is the weakest, 3.98 m/s and 549 kWh, so the best month makes 2.3 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 | 5.32 m/s | 1,252 kWh | $175 |
| February | 5.32 m/s | 1,131 kWh | $158 |
| March | 5.31 m/s | 1,247 kWh | $175 |
| April | 5.25 m/s | 1,172 kWh | $164 |
| May | 4.63 m/s | 861 kWh | $121 |
| June | 4.66 m/s | 847 kWh | $119 |
| July | 3.98 m/s | 549 kWh | $77 |
| August | 4.06 m/s | 582 kWh | $82 |
| September | 4.47 m/s | 755 kWh | $106 |
| October | 4.87 m/s | 994 kWh | $139 |
| November | 5.01 m/s | 1,033 kWh | $145 |
| December | 5.14 m/s | 1,144 kWh | $160 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Lincoln County averages 3.6 m/s; at 50 m it is 5.54 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.268, typical of ordinary open country. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 8,367 to 16,326 kWh a year, 95% 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 | 4.33 m/s | 8,367 kWh | 85 years |
| 30 m | 4.83 m/s | 11,414 kWh | 63 years |
| 40 m | 5.22 m/s | 14,035 kWh | 51 years |
| 50 m | 5.54 m/s | 16,326 kWh | 44 years |
Counties around Lincoln County
None of the 6 closest counties is windier than Lincoln County.
- Bear Lake County, ID: 3.5 m/s, 4,329 kWh, payback over 100 years (33 mi)
- Rich County, UT: 4.61 m/s, 10,008 kWh, payback 76 years (51 mi)
- Sublette County, WY: 3.96 m/s, 6,378 kWh, payback over 100 years (54 mi)
- Caribou County, ID: 3.51 m/s, 4,368 kWh, payback over 100 years (58 mi)
- Franklin County, ID: 3.67 m/s, 5,034 kWh, payback over 100 years (58 mi)
- Cache County, UT: 3.08 m/s, 2,844 kWh, payback over 100 years (64 mi)
Sun versus wind in Lincoln County
Lincoln County gets 4.66 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,361 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 1,141. Kilowatt for kilowatt, panels make 1.2 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.