Wind Turbine Payback in Nye County, NV
Wind turbine payback in Nye 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 Nye County, NV averages 4.71 m/s (10.5 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 10,635 kWh a year, worth $1,421 at NV's 13.36¢/kWh. Against an installed cost of about $100,000, that is a payback of 70 years, and the turbine is built to last about 20.
What to do in Nye County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Nye County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 8.6 m/s at the hub against 4.71 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,626 kWh a year here against the turbine's 1,064, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 47¢/kWh, 3.5 times what NV pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 8.6 m/s instead of 4.71. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of NV
Nye County is the 1,607th windiest of 3,144 US counties at turbine height; the national middle is 4.79 m/s. It is the windiest county in NV.
Month by month in Nye County
April is the strongest month here, at 5.50 m/s and about 1,319 kWh. November is the weakest, 4.37 m/s and 705 kWh, so the best month makes 1.9 times the worst. November to March brings in 40% of the year's output in Nye County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 4.36 m/s | 724 kWh | $97 |
| February | 4.85 m/s | 885 kWh | $118 |
| March | 5.26 m/s | 1,215 kWh | $162 |
| April | 5.50 m/s | 1,319 kWh | $176 |
| May | 5.04 m/s | 1,087 kWh | $145 |
| June | 5.08 m/s | 1,077 kWh | $144 |
| July | 4.45 m/s | 769 kWh | $103 |
| August | 4.43 m/s | 759 kWh | $101 |
| September | 4.39 m/s | 713 kWh | $95 |
| October | 4.38 m/s | 733 kWh | $98 |
| November | 4.37 m/s | 705 kWh | $94 |
| December | 4.44 m/s | 764 kWh | $102 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Nye County averages 3.8 m/s; at 50 m it is 5.21 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.196, typical of ordinary open country. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 8,480 to 13,976 kWh a year, 65% 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 | 4.35 m/s | 8,480 kWh | 88 years |
| 30 m | 4.71 m/s | 10,658 kWh | 70 years |
| 40 m | 4.99 m/s | 12,447 kWh | 60 years |
| 50 m | 5.21 m/s | 13,976 kWh | 54 years |
Counties around Nye County
None of the 6 closest counties is windier than Nye County.
- Esmeralda County, NV: 4.22 m/s, 7,732 kWh, payback 97 years (65 mi)
- Lincoln County, NV: 4.67 m/s, 10,382 kWh, payback 72 years (90 mi)
- Inyo County, CA: 3.03 m/s, 2,691 kWh, payback over 100 years (110 mi)
- Mineral County, NV: 3.75 m/s, 5,387 kWh, payback over 100 years (113 mi)
- White Pine County, NV: 4.38 m/s, 8,632 kWh, payback 87 years (131 mi)
- Mono County, CA: 4.05 m/s, 6,831 kWh, payback 45 years (132 mi)
Sun versus wind in Nye County
Nye County gets 5.57 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,626 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 1,064. Kilowatt for kilowatt, panels make 1.5 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.