Wind Turbine Payback in Santa Fe County, NM
Wind turbine payback in Santa Fe 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 Santa Fe County, NM averages 4.59 m/s (10.3 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 9,885 kWh a year, worth $1,516 at NM's 15.34¢/kWh. Against an installed cost of about $100,000, that is a payback of 66 years, and the turbine is built to last about 20.
What to do in Santa Fe County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Santa Fe County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 7.8 m/s at the hub against 4.59 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,586 kWh a year here against the turbine's 989, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 51¢/kWh, 3.3 times what NM pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 7.8 m/s instead of 4.59. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of NM
Santa Fe County is the 1,698th 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 Santa Fe County
April is the strongest month here, at 5.61 m/s and about 1,386 kWh. August is the weakest, 3.50 m/s and 369 kWh, so the best month makes 3.8 times the worst. November to March brings in 46% of the year's output in Santa Fe County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 4.71 m/s | 903 kWh | $139 |
| February | 5.06 m/s | 995 kWh | $153 |
| March | 5.25 m/s | 1,211 kWh | $186 |
| April | 5.61 m/s | 1,386 kWh | $213 |
| May | 5.19 m/s | 1,174 kWh | $180 |
| June | 4.68 m/s | 860 kWh | $132 |
| July | 3.52 m/s | 375 kWh | $58 |
| August | 3.50 m/s | 369 kWh | $57 |
| September | 4.05 m/s | 563 kWh | $86 |
| October | 4.50 m/s | 791 kWh | $121 |
| November | 4.59 m/s | 810 kWh | $124 |
| December | 4.54 m/s | 814 kWh | $125 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Santa Fe County averages 3.55 m/s; at 50 m it is 5.18 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.235, typical of ordinary open country. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 7,496 to 13,768 kWh a year, 84% 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 | 4.18 m/s | 7,496 kWh | 87 years |
| 30 m | 4.59 m/s | 9,910 kWh | 66 years |
| 40 m | 4.92 m/s | 11,968 kWh | 55 years |
| 50 m | 5.18 m/s | 13,768 kWh | 47 years |
Counties around Santa Fe County
4 of the 6 closest counties are windier at turbine height; the windiest, Torrance County, averages 6.4 m/s.
- Los Alamos County, NM: 4.28 m/s, 8,064 kWh, payback 81 years (31 mi)
- Bernalillo County, NM: 4.45 m/s, 9,041 kWh, payback 72 years (51 mi)
- Sandoval County, NM: 5 m/s, 12,535 kWh, payback 52 years (53 mi)
- San Miguel County, NM: 6 m/s, 19,704 kWh, payback 33 years (65 mi)
- Torrance County, NM: 6.4 m/s, 22,669 kWh, payback 29 years (66 mi)
- Mora County, NM: 5.15 m/s, 13,560 kWh, payback 48 years (67 mi)
Sun versus wind in Santa Fe County
Santa Fe County gets 5.43 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,586 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 989. Kilowatt for kilowatt, panels make 1.6 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.