Wind Turbine Payback in Payette County, ID
Wind turbine payback in Payette 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 Payette County, ID averages 3.86 m/s (8.6 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 5,894 kWh a year, worth $767 at ID's 13.02¢/kWh. Against an installed cost of about $100,000, that is a payback of over 100 years, and the turbine is built to last about 20.
What to do in Payette County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Payette County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 8.7 m/s at the hub against 3.86 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,279 kWh a year here against the turbine's 589, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 85¢/kWh, 6.5 times what ID pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 8.7 m/s instead of 3.86. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of ID
Payette County is the 2,167th windiest of 3,144 US counties at turbine height; the national middle is 4.79 m/s. The windiest in ID is Owyhee County at 5.38 m/s, payback 51 years.
Month by month in Payette County
April is the strongest month here, at 4.31 m/s and about 675 kWh. September is the weakest, 3.50 m/s and 355 kWh, so the best month makes 1.9 times the worst. November to March brings in 41% of the year's output in Payette County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 3.52 m/s | 373 kWh | $49 |
| February | 4.02 m/s | 511 kWh | $67 |
| March | 4.21 m/s | 652 kWh | $85 |
| April | 4.31 m/s | 675 kWh | $88 |
| May | 4.01 m/s | 562 kWh | $73 |
| June | 4.01 m/s | 544 kWh | $71 |
| July | 3.92 m/s | 525 kWh | $68 |
| August | 3.66 m/s | 422 kWh | $55 |
| September | 3.50 m/s | 355 kWh | $46 |
| October | 3.63 m/s | 413 kWh | $54 |
| November | 3.69 m/s | 421 kWh | $55 |
| December | 3.81 m/s | 482 kWh | $63 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Payette County averages 2.92 m/s; at 50 m it is 4.39 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.253, typical of ordinary open country. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 4,256 to 8,690 kWh a year, 104% 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 | 3.48 m/s | 4,256 kWh | over 100 years |
| 30 m | 3.86 m/s | 5,884 kWh | over 100 years |
| 40 m | 4.15 m/s | 7,349 kWh | over 100 years |
| 50 m | 4.39 m/s | 8,690 kWh | 88 years |
Counties around Payette County
2 of the 6 closest counties are windier at turbine height; the windiest, Canyon County, averages 4.3 m/s.
- Gem County, ID: 3.76 m/s, 5,432 kWh, payback over 100 years (18 mi)
- Canyon County, ID: 4.3 m/s, 8,176 kWh, payback 94 years (26 mi)
- Washington County, ID: 3.6 m/s, 4,736 kWh, payback over 100 years (31 mi)
- Ada County, ID: 4.17 m/s, 7,461 kWh, payback over 100 years (46 mi)
- Boise County, ID: 2.86 m/s, 2,205 kWh, payback over 100 years (51 mi)
- Adams County, ID: 2.96 m/s, 2,484 kWh, payback over 100 years (62 mi)
Sun versus wind in Payette County
Payette County gets 4.38 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,279 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 589. Kilowatt for kilowatt, panels make 2.2 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.