Wind Turbine Payback in Richland County, ND
Wind turbine payback in Richland 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 Richland County, ND averages 6.27 m/s (14 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 21,706 kWh a year, worth $2,705 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 Richland County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Richland County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 9.1 m/s at the hub against 6.27 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,142 kWh a year here against the turbine's 2,171, 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 6.27. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of ND
Richland County is the 510th 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 Richland County
April is the strongest month here, at 6.87 m/s and about 2,147 kWh. July is the weakest, 5.45 m/s and 1,330 kWh, so the best month makes 1.6 times the worst. November to March brings in 42% of the year's output in Richland County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 6.20 m/s | 1,800 kWh | $224 |
| February | 6.24 m/s | 1,646 kWh | $205 |
| March | 6.50 m/s | 1,991 kWh | $248 |
| April | 6.87 m/s | 2,147 kWh | $268 |
| May | 6.70 m/s | 2,114 kWh | $263 |
| June | 6.02 m/s | 1,632 kWh | $203 |
| July | 5.45 m/s | 1,330 kWh | $166 |
| August | 5.56 m/s | 1,396 kWh | $174 |
| September | 6.42 m/s | 1,878 kWh | $234 |
| October | 6.76 m/s | 2,147 kWh | $268 |
| November | 6.43 m/s | 1,883 kWh | $235 |
| December | 6.15 m/s | 1,766 kWh | $220 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Richland County averages 4.95 m/s; at 50 m it is 7 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 17,846 to 27,043 kWh a year, 52% 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 | 5.75 m/s | 17,846 kWh | 45 years |
| 30 m | 6.27 m/s | 21,721 kWh | 37 years |
| 40 m | 6.67 m/s | 24,670 kWh | 33 years |
| 50 m | 7 m/s | 27,043 kWh | 30 years |
Counties around Richland County
6 of the 6 closest counties are windier at turbine height; the windiest, Marshall County, averages 6.68 m/s.
- Wilkin County, MN: 6.45 m/s, 23,038 kWh, payback 26 years (23 mi)
- Sargent County, ND: 6.44 m/s, 22,964 kWh, payback 35 years (35 mi)
- Ransom County, ND: 6.28 m/s, 21,781 kWh, payback 37 years (36 mi)
- Traverse County, MN: 6.37 m/s, 22,447 kWh, payback 27 years (41 mi)
- Roberts County, SD: 6.62 m/s, 24,289 kWh, payback 28 years (44 mi)
- Marshall County, SD: 6.68 m/s, 24,728 kWh, payback 28 years (48 mi)
Sun versus wind in Richland County
Richland 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 2,171. 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.