Wind Turbine Payback in Sheridan County, KS
Wind turbine payback in Sheridan 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 Sheridan County, KS averages 6.44 m/s (14.4 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 22,964 kWh a year, worth $3,504 at KS's 15.26¢/kWh. Against an installed cost of about $100,000, that is a payback of 29 years, and the turbine is built to last about 20.
What to do in Sheridan County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Sheridan County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 7.8 m/s at the hub against 6.44 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,381 kWh a year here against the turbine's 2,296, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 22¢/kWh, 1.4 times what KS pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 7.8 m/s instead of 6.44. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of KS
Sheridan County is the 280th windiest of 3,144 US counties at turbine height; the national middle is 4.79 m/s. The windiest in KS is Edwards County at 6.68 m/s, payback 27 years.
Month by month in Sheridan County
April is the strongest month here, at 7.15 m/s and about 2,311 kWh. August is the weakest, 5.71 m/s and 1,492 kWh, so the best month makes 1.5 times the worst. November to March brings in 42% of the year's output in Sheridan County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 6.38 m/s | 1,914 kWh | $292 |
| February | 6.44 m/s | 1,759 kWh | $268 |
| March | 6.74 m/s | 2,137 kWh | $326 |
| April | 7.15 m/s | 2,311 kWh | $353 |
| May | 6.53 m/s | 2,004 kWh | $306 |
| June | 6.36 m/s | 1,841 kWh | $281 |
| July | 5.81 m/s | 1,554 kWh | $237 |
| August | 5.71 m/s | 1,492 kWh | $228 |
| September | 6.55 m/s | 1,955 kWh | $298 |
| October | 6.63 m/s | 2,071 kWh | $316 |
| November | 6.58 m/s | 1,972 kWh | $301 |
| December | 6.40 m/s | 1,925 kWh | $294 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Sheridan County averages 5.07 m/s; at 50 m it is 7.19 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.217, typical of ordinary open country. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 18,916 to 28,390 kWh a year, 50% 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 | 5.89 m/s | 18,916 kWh | 35 years |
| 30 m | 6.44 m/s | 22,932 kWh | 29 years |
| 40 m | 6.85 m/s | 25,965 kWh | 25 years |
| 50 m | 7.19 m/s | 28,390 kWh | 23 years |
Counties around Sheridan County
1 of the 6 closest counties is windier at turbine height; the windiest, Trego County, averages 6.45 m/s.
- Decatur County, KS: 6.29 m/s, 21,855 kWh, payback 30 years (30 mi)
- Graham County, KS: 6.4 m/s, 22,669 kWh, payback 29 years (30 mi)
- Gove County, KS: 6.42 m/s, 22,817 kWh, payback 29 years (30 mi)
- Thomas County, KS: 6.38 m/s, 22,521 kWh, payback 29 years (34 mi)
- Norton County, KS: 6.31 m/s, 22,003 kWh, payback 30 years (42 mi)
- Trego County, KS: 6.45 m/s, 23,038 kWh, payback 28 years (43 mi)
Sun versus wind in Sheridan County
Sheridan County gets 4.73 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,381 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 2,296. This is one of the rare places where a kilowatt of turbine out-produces a kilowatt of panels, by 1.7 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.