Wind Turbine Payback in Phillips County, CO
Wind turbine payback in Phillips 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 Phillips County, CO averages 6.16 m/s (13.8 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 20,891 kWh a year, worth $3,510 at CO's 16.8¢/kWh. Against an installed cost of about $100,000, that is a payback of 29 years, and the turbine is built to last about 20.
What to do in Phillips County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Phillips County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 7.4 m/s at the hub against 6.16 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,384 kWh a year here against the turbine's 2,089, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 24¢/kWh, 1.4 times what CO pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 7.4 m/s instead of 6.16. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of CO
Phillips County is the 630th windiest of 3,144 US counties at turbine height; the national middle is 4.79 m/s. The windiest in CO is Baca County at 6.65 m/s, payback 24 years.
Month by month in Phillips County
April is the strongest month here, at 6.82 m/s and about 2,117 kWh. July is the weakest, 5.39 m/s and 1,294 kWh, so the best month makes 1.6 times the worst. November to March brings in 46% of the year's output in Phillips County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 6.47 m/s | 1,972 kWh | $331 |
| February | 6.43 m/s | 1,756 kWh | $295 |
| March | 6.59 m/s | 2,044 kWh | $343 |
| April | 6.82 m/s | 2,117 kWh | $356 |
| May | 6.15 m/s | 1,770 kWh | $297 |
| June | 5.79 m/s | 1,491 kWh | $250 |
| July | 5.39 m/s | 1,294 kWh | $217 |
| August | 5.41 m/s | 1,304 kWh | $219 |
| September | 5.83 m/s | 1,518 kWh | $255 |
| October | 6.33 m/s | 1,882 kWh | $316 |
| November | 6.43 m/s | 1,881 kWh | $316 |
| December | 6.38 m/s | 1,910 kWh | $321 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Phillips County averages 4.8 m/s; at 50 m it is 6.92 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.227, typical of ordinary open country. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 16,911 to 26,469 kWh a year, 57% 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 | 5.62 m/s | 16,911 kWh | 35 years |
| 30 m | 6.16 m/s | 20,908 kWh | 29 years |
| 40 m | 6.58 m/s | 23,982 kWh | 25 years |
| 50 m | 6.92 m/s | 26,469 kWh | 23 years |
Counties around Phillips County
4 of the 6 closest counties are windier at turbine height; the windiest, Perkins County, averages 6.3 m/s.
- Sedgwick County, CO: 6.2 m/s, 21,187 kWh, payback 28 years (19 mi)
- Chase County, NE: 6.23 m/s, 21,410 kWh, payback 36 years (34 mi)
- Deuel County, NE: 6.2 m/s, 21,187 kWh, payback 37 years (36 mi)
- Logan County, CO: 5.89 m/s, 18,890 kWh, payback 32 years (40 mi)
- Yuma County, CO: 6.12 m/s, 20,594 kWh, payback 29 years (41 mi)
- Perkins County, NE: 6.3 m/s, 21,929 kWh, payback 35 years (42 mi)
Sun versus wind in Phillips County
Phillips County gets 4.74 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,384 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 2,089. This is one of the rare places where a kilowatt of turbine out-produces a kilowatt of panels, by 1.5 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.