Wind Turbine Payback in Rich County, UT
Wind turbine payback in Rich 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 Rich County, UT averages 4.61 m/s (10.3 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 10,008 kWh a year, worth $1,320 at UT's 13.19¢/kWh. Against an installed cost of about $100,000, that is a payback of 76 years, and the turbine is built to last about 20.
What to do in Rich County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Rich County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 8.7 m/s at the hub against 4.61 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,396 kWh a year here against the turbine's 1,001, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 50¢/kWh, 3.8 times what UT pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 8.7 m/s instead of 4.61. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of UT
Rich County is the 1,685th windiest of 3,144 US counties at turbine height; the national middle is 4.79 m/s. The windiest in UT is Daggett County at 5.32 m/s, payback 51 years.
Month by month in Rich County
March is the strongest month here, at 5.15 m/s and about 1,149 kWh. July is the weakest, 3.91 m/s and 521 kWh, so the best month makes 2.2 times the worst. November to March brings in 50% of the year's output in Rich County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 4.87 m/s | 991 kWh | $131 |
| February | 5.13 m/s | 1,028 kWh | $136 |
| March | 5.15 m/s | 1,149 kWh | $152 |
| April | 5.05 m/s | 1,057 kWh | $139 |
| May | 4.42 m/s | 751 kWh | $99 |
| June | 4.47 m/s | 753 kWh | $99 |
| July | 3.91 m/s | 521 kWh | $69 |
| August | 3.97 m/s | 547 kWh | $72 |
| September | 4.26 m/s | 652 kWh | $86 |
| October | 4.51 m/s | 801 kWh | $106 |
| November | 4.75 m/s | 893 kWh | $118 |
| December | 4.85 m/s | 981 kWh | $129 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Rich County averages 3.58 m/s; at 50 m it is 5.19 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.231, typical of ordinary open country. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 7,623 to 13,837 kWh a year, 82% 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 | 4.2 m/s | 7,623 kWh | 100 years |
| 30 m | 4.61 m/s | 10,023 kWh | 76 years |
| 40 m | 4.93 m/s | 12,060 kWh | 63 years |
| 50 m | 5.19 m/s | 13,837 kWh | 55 years |
Counties around Rich County
1 of the 6 closest counties is windier at turbine height; the windiest, Uinta County, averages 5.84 m/s.
- Cache County, UT: 3.08 m/s, 2,844 kWh, payback over 100 years (27 mi)
- Morgan County, UT: 3.22 m/s, 3,299 kWh, payback over 100 years (41 mi)
- Weber County, UT: 3.08 m/s, 2,844 kWh, payback over 100 years (41 mi)
- Uinta County, WY: 5.84 m/s, 18,521 kWh, payback 39 years (42 mi)
- Bear Lake County, ID: 3.5 m/s, 4,329 kWh, payback over 100 years (46 mi)
- Franklin County, ID: 3.67 m/s, 5,034 kWh, payback over 100 years (48 mi)
Sun versus wind in Rich County
Rich County gets 4.78 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,396 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 1,001. Kilowatt for kilowatt, panels make 1.4 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.