Wind Turbine Payback in Power County, ID
Wind turbine payback in Power 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 Power County, ID averages 4.79 m/s (10.7 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 11,147 kWh a year, worth $1,451 at ID's 13.02¢/kWh. Against an installed cost of about $100,000, that is a payback of 69 years, and the turbine is built to last about 20.
What to do in Power County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Power County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 8.7 m/s at the hub against 4.79 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,326 kWh a year here against the turbine's 1,115, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 45¢/kWh, 3.4 times what ID pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 8.7 m/s instead of 4.79. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of ID
Power County is the 1,566th 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 Power County
March is the strongest month here, at 5.42 m/s and about 1,311 kWh. July is the weakest, 4.08 m/s and 595 kWh, so the best month makes 2.2 times the worst. November to March brings in 50% of the year's output in Power County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 5.00 m/s | 1,066 kWh | $139 |
| February | 5.18 m/s | 1,057 kWh | $138 |
| March | 5.42 m/s | 1,311 kWh | $171 |
| April | 5.20 m/s | 1,143 kWh | $149 |
| May | 4.61 m/s | 848 kWh | $110 |
| June | 4.61 m/s | 821 kWh | $107 |
| July | 4.08 m/s | 595 kWh | $77 |
| August | 4.13 m/s | 615 kWh | $80 |
| September | 4.31 m/s | 676 kWh | $88 |
| October | 4.76 m/s | 930 kWh | $121 |
| November | 5.07 m/s | 1,067 kWh | $139 |
| December | 5.07 m/s | 1,107 kWh | $144 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Power County averages 3.81 m/s; at 50 m it is 5.32 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.207, typical of ordinary open country. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 8,753 to 14,750 kWh a year, 69% 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 | 4.4 m/s | 8,753 kWh | 88 years |
| 30 m | 4.79 m/s | 11,122 kWh | 69 years |
| 40 m | 5.08 m/s | 13,077 kWh | 59 years |
| 50 m | 5.32 m/s | 14,750 kWh | 52 years |
Counties around Power County
3 of the 6 closest counties are windier at turbine height; the windiest, Cassia County, averages 4.98 m/s.
- Bannock County, ID: 4.31 m/s, 8,233 kWh, payback 93 years (31 mi)
- Oneida County, ID: 3.88 m/s, 5,989 kWh, payback over 100 years (39 mi)
- Minidoka County, ID: 4.93 m/s, 12,065 kWh, payback 64 years (42 mi)
- Bingham County, ID: 4.82 m/s, 11,341 kWh, payback 68 years (43 mi)
- Cassia County, ID: 4.98 m/s, 12,400 kWh, payback 62 years (49 mi)
- Franklin County, ID: 3.67 m/s, 5,034 kWh, payback over 100 years (63 mi)
Sun versus wind in Power County
Power County gets 4.54 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,326 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 1,115. 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.