Wind Turbine Payback in Roosevelt County, NM
Wind turbine payback in Roosevelt 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 Roosevelt County, NM averages 6.01 m/s (13.4 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 19,778 kWh a year, worth $3,034 at NM's 15.34¢/kWh. Against an installed cost of about $100,000, that is a payback of 33 years, and the turbine is built to last about 20.
What to do in Roosevelt County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Roosevelt County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 7.8 m/s at the hub against 6.01 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,615 kWh a year here against the turbine's 1,978, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 25¢/kWh, 1.6 times what NM pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 7.8 m/s instead of 6.01. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of NM
Roosevelt County is the 826th windiest of 3,144 US counties at turbine height; the national middle is 4.79 m/s. The windiest in NM is Union County at 6.75 m/s, payback 26 years.
Month by month in Roosevelt County
April is the strongest month here, at 7.01 m/s and about 2,227 kWh. August is the weakest, 4.93 m/s and 1,027 kWh, so the best month makes 2.2 times the worst. November to March brings in 45% of the year's output in Roosevelt County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 6.06 m/s | 1,714 kWh | $263 |
| February | 6.44 m/s | 1,760 kWh | $270 |
| March | 6.58 m/s | 2,038 kWh | $313 |
| April | 7.01 m/s | 2,227 kWh | $342 |
| May | 6.34 m/s | 1,887 kWh | $289 |
| June | 6.07 m/s | 1,664 kWh | $255 |
| July | 5.21 m/s | 1,187 kWh | $182 |
| August | 4.93 m/s | 1,027 kWh | $158 |
| September | 5.48 m/s | 1,305 kWh | $200 |
| October | 5.89 m/s | 1,602 kWh | $246 |
| November | 6.08 m/s | 1,669 kWh | $256 |
| December | 6.08 m/s | 1,725 kWh | $265 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Roosevelt County averages 4.67 m/s; at 50 m it is 6.76 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.230, typical of ordinary open country. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 15,860 to 25,311 kWh a year, 60% 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 | 5.48 m/s | 15,860 kWh | 41 years |
| 30 m | 6.01 m/s | 19,783 kWh | 33 years |
| 40 m | 6.42 m/s | 22,830 kWh | 29 years |
| 50 m | 6.76 m/s | 25,311 kWh | 26 years |
Counties around Roosevelt County
6 of the 6 closest counties are windier at turbine height; the windiest, Curry County, averages 6.41 m/s.
- Bailey County, TX: 6.28 m/s, 21,781 kWh, payback 29 years (38 mi)
- Curry County, NM: 6.41 m/s, 22,743 kWh, payback 29 years (39 mi)
- Cochran County, TX: 6.28 m/s, 21,781 kWh, payback 29 years (47 mi)
- Parmer County, TX: 6.39 m/s, 22,595 kWh, payback 28 years (53 mi)
- De Baca County, NM: 6.1 m/s, 20,446 kWh, payback 32 years (56 mi)
- Lamb County, TX: 6.22 m/s, 21,336 kWh, payback 29 years (65 mi)
Sun versus wind in Roosevelt County
Roosevelt County gets 5.53 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,615 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 1,978. This is one of the rare places where a kilowatt of turbine out-produces a kilowatt of panels, by 1.2 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.