Wind Turbine Payback in Mora County, NM
Wind turbine payback in Mora 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 Mora County, NM averages 5.15 m/s (11.5 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 13,560 kWh a year, worth $2,080 at NM's 15.34¢/kWh. Against an installed cost of about $100,000, that is a payback of 48 years, and the turbine is built to last about 20.
What to do in Mora County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Mora County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 7.8 m/s at the hub against 5.15 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,597 kWh a year here against the turbine's 1,356, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 37¢/kWh, 2.4 times what NM pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 7.8 m/s instead of 5.15. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of NM
Mora County is the 1,394th windiest of 3,144 US counties at turbine height; the national middle is 4.79 m/s. The windiest in NM is Union County at 6.75 m/s, payback 26 years.
Month by month in Mora County
April is the strongest month here, at 5.97 m/s and about 1,602 kWh. July is the weakest, 3.80 m/s and 479 kWh, so the best month makes 3.3 times the worst. November to March brings in 52% of the year's output in Mora County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 5.57 m/s | 1,406 kWh | $216 |
| February | 5.88 m/s | 1,442 kWh | $221 |
| March | 5.87 m/s | 1,591 kWh | $244 |
| April | 5.97 m/s | 1,602 kWh | $246 |
| May | 5.31 m/s | 1,250 kWh | $192 |
| June | 4.81 m/s | 928 kWh | $142 |
| July | 3.80 m/s | 479 kWh | $73 |
| August | 3.90 m/s | 516 kWh | $79 |
| September | 4.48 m/s | 757 kWh | $116 |
| October | 5.08 m/s | 1,108 kWh | $170 |
| November | 5.49 m/s | 1,315 kWh | $202 |
| December | 5.68 m/s | 1,474 kWh | $226 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Mora County averages 3.66 m/s; at 50 m it is 6.04 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.311, typical of rough, sheltered ground: trees or buildings slow the low wind a lot. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 9,594 to 20,001 kWh a year, 108% 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 | 4.54 m/s | 9,594 kWh | 68 years |
| 30 m | 5.15 m/s | 13,579 kWh | 48 years |
| 40 m | 5.64 m/s | 17,017 kWh | 38 years |
| 50 m | 6.04 m/s | 20,001 kWh | 33 years |
Counties around Mora County
4 of the 6 closest counties are windier at turbine height; the windiest, Guadalupe County, averages 6.34 m/s.
- San Miguel County, NM: 6 m/s, 19,704 kWh, payback 33 years (36 mi)
- Colfax County, NM: 5.94 m/s, 19,260 kWh, payback 34 years (46 mi)
- Taos County, NM: 4.23 m/s, 7,787 kWh, payback 84 years (57 mi)
- Harding County, NM: 6.25 m/s, 21,558 kWh, payback 30 years (60 mi)
- Santa Fe County, NM: 4.59 m/s, 9,885 kWh, payback 66 years (67 mi)
- Guadalupe County, NM: 6.34 m/s, 22,225 kWh, payback 29 years (77 mi)
Sun versus wind in Mora County
Mora County gets 5.47 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,597 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 1,356. 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.