Wind Turbine Payback in Ransom County, ND
Wind turbine payback in Ransom 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 Ransom County, ND averages 6.28 m/s (14 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 21,781 kWh a year, worth $2,714 at ND's 12.46¢/kWh. Against an installed cost of about $100,000, that is a payback of 37 years, and the turbine is built to last about 20.
What to do in Ransom County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Ransom County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 9.1 m/s at the hub against 6.28 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,142 kWh a year here against the turbine's 2,178, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 23¢/kWh, 1.8 times what ND pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 9.1 m/s instead of 6.28. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of ND
Ransom County is the 498th windiest of 3,144 US counties at turbine height; the national middle is 4.79 m/s. The windiest in ND is Bowman County at 6.79 m/s, payback 31 years.
Month by month in Ransom County
October is the strongest month here, at 6.84 m/s and about 2,197 kWh. July is the weakest, 5.43 m/s and 1,319 kWh, so the best month makes 1.7 times the worst. November to March brings in 42% of the year's output in Ransom County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 6.32 m/s | 1,873 kWh | $233 |
| February | 6.27 m/s | 1,666 kWh | $208 |
| March | 6.45 m/s | 1,957 kWh | $244 |
| April | 6.79 m/s | 2,099 kWh | $262 |
| May | 6.65 m/s | 2,080 kWh | $259 |
| June | 5.98 m/s | 1,605 kWh | $200 |
| July | 5.43 m/s | 1,319 kWh | $164 |
| August | 5.54 m/s | 1,385 kWh | $173 |
| September | 6.42 m/s | 1,878 kWh | $234 |
| October | 6.84 m/s | 2,197 kWh | $274 |
| November | 6.50 m/s | 1,921 kWh | $239 |
| December | 6.23 m/s | 1,817 kWh | $226 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Ransom County averages 4.96 m/s; at 50 m it is 7.01 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.215, typical of ordinary open country. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 17,907 to 27,114 kWh a year, 51% 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 | 5.76 m/s | 17,907 kWh | 45 years |
| 30 m | 6.28 m/s | 21,787 kWh | 37 years |
| 40 m | 6.68 m/s | 24,740 kWh | 32 years |
| 50 m | 7.01 m/s | 27,114 kWh | 30 years |
Counties around Ransom County
5 of the 6 closest counties are windier at turbine height; the windiest, LaMoure County, averages 6.61 m/s.
- Sargent County, ND: 6.44 m/s, 22,964 kWh, payback 35 years (24 mi)
- Richland County, ND: 6.27 m/s, 21,706 kWh, payback 37 years (36 mi)
- Cass County, ND: 6.35 m/s, 22,299 kWh, payback 36 years (38 mi)
- Barnes County, ND: 6.44 m/s, 22,964 kWh, payback 35 years (40 mi)
- LaMoure County, ND: 6.61 m/s, 24,216 kWh, payback 33 years (42 mi)
- Dickey County, ND: 6.5 m/s, 23,407 kWh, payback 34 years (47 mi)
Sun versus wind in Ransom County
Ransom County gets 3.91 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,142 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 2,178. This is one of the rare places where a kilowatt of turbine out-produces a kilowatt of panels, by 1.9 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.