Wind Turbine Payback in Logan County, ND
Wind turbine payback in Logan 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 Logan County, ND averages 6.69 m/s (15 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 24,801 kWh a year, worth $3,090 at ND's 12.46¢/kWh. Against an installed cost of about $100,000, that is a payback of 32 years, and the turbine is built to last about 20.
What to do in Logan County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Logan County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 9.1 m/s at the hub against 6.69 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,171 kWh a year here against the turbine's 2,480, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 20¢/kWh, 1.6 times what ND pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 9.1 m/s instead of 6.69. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of ND
Logan County is the 65th windiest of 3,144 US counties at turbine height; the national middle is 4.79 m/s. The windiest in ND is Bowman County at 6.79 m/s, payback 31 years.
Month by month in Logan County
October is the strongest month here, at 7.24 m/s and about 2,444 kWh. July is the weakest, 5.78 m/s and 1,533 kWh, so the best month makes 1.6 times the worst. November to March brings in 44% of the year's output in Logan County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 6.96 m/s | 2,270 kWh | $283 |
| February | 6.62 m/s | 1,865 kWh | $232 |
| March | 6.90 m/s | 2,237 kWh | $279 |
| April | 7.08 m/s | 2,271 kWh | $283 |
| May | 6.93 m/s | 2,254 kWh | $281 |
| June | 6.31 m/s | 1,807 kWh | $225 |
| July | 5.78 m/s | 1,533 kWh | $191 |
| August | 5.91 m/s | 1,617 kWh | $201 |
| September | 6.75 m/s | 2,074 kWh | $258 |
| October | 7.24 m/s | 2,444 kWh | $305 |
| November | 7.03 m/s | 2,239 kWh | $279 |
| December | 6.84 m/s | 2,198 kWh | $274 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Logan County averages 5.35 m/s; at 50 m it is 7.43 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.204, typical of ordinary open country. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 20,915 to 30,058 kWh a year, 44% 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 | 6.16 m/s | 20,915 kWh | 38 years |
| 30 m | 6.69 m/s | 24,836 kWh | 32 years |
| 40 m | 7.1 m/s | 27,750 kWh | 29 years |
| 50 m | 7.43 m/s | 30,058 kWh | 27 years |
Counties around Logan County
None of the 6 closest counties is windier than Logan County.
- McIntosh County, ND: 6.65 m/s, 24,509 kWh, payback 33 years (25 mi)
- Kidder County, ND: 6.51 m/s, 23,481 kWh, payback 34 years (34 mi)
- Emmons County, ND: 6.53 m/s, 23,628 kWh, payback 34 years (37 mi)
- Stutsman County, ND: 6.55 m/s, 23,775 kWh, payback 34 years (43 mi)
- LaMoure County, ND: 6.61 m/s, 24,216 kWh, payback 33 years (47 mi)
- McPherson County, SD: 6.65 m/s, 24,509 kWh, payback 28 years (49 mi)
Sun versus wind in Logan County
Logan County gets 4.01 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,171 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 2,480. This is one of the rare places where a kilowatt of turbine out-produces a kilowatt of panels, by 2.1 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.