Wind Turbine Payback in Otero County, NM
Wind turbine payback in Otero 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 Otero 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 Otero County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Otero 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 1,673 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
Otero 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 Otero County
April is the strongest month here, at 6.53 m/s and about 1,943 kWh. August is the weakest, 3.74 m/s and 454 kWh, so the best month makes 4.3 times the worst. November to March brings in 48% of the year's output in Otero County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 5.33 m/s | 1,258 kWh | $193 |
| February | 5.79 m/s | 1,393 kWh | $214 |
| March | 5.97 m/s | 1,654 kWh | $254 |
| April | 6.53 m/s | 1,943 kWh | $298 |
| May | 5.84 m/s | 1,576 kWh | $242 |
| June | 4.96 m/s | 1,010 kWh | $155 |
| July | 3.99 m/s | 555 kWh | $85 |
| August | 3.74 m/s | 454 kWh | $70 |
| September | 4.31 m/s | 678 kWh | $104 |
| October | 4.87 m/s | 993 kWh | $152 |
| November | 5.22 m/s | 1,155 kWh | $177 |
| December | 5.35 m/s | 1,268 kWh | $195 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Otero County averages 4.02 m/s; at 50 m it is 5.78 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.226, typical of ordinary open country. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 10,564 to 18,079 kWh a year, 71% 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 | 4.7 m/s | 10,564 kWh | 62 years |
| 30 m | 5.15 m/s | 13,558 kWh | 48 years |
| 40 m | 5.5 m/s | 16,006 kWh | 41 years |
| 50 m | 5.78 m/s | 18,079 kWh | 36 years |
Counties around Otero County
2 of the 6 closest counties are windier at turbine height; the windiest, Eddy County, averages 5.59 m/s.
- El Paso County, TX: 5.01 m/s, 12,602 kWh, payback 50 years (65 mi)
- Doña Ana County, NM: 5.01 m/s, 12,602 kWh, payback 52 years (66 mi)
- Lincoln County, NM: 5.12 m/s, 13,353 kWh, payback 49 years (80 mi)
- Hudspeth County, TX: 5.39 m/s, 15,247 kWh, payback 41 years (83 mi)
- Eddy County, NM: 5.59 m/s, 16,689 kWh, payback 39 years (85 mi)
- Sierra County, NM: 5.05 m/s, 12,873 kWh, payback 51 years (90 mi)
Sun versus wind in Otero County
Otero County gets 5.73 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,673 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.