Wind Turbine Payback in Sierra County, NM
Wind turbine payback in Sierra 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 Sierra County, NM averages 5.05 m/s (11.3 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 12,873 kWh a year, worth $1,975 at NM's 15.34¢/kWh. Against an installed cost of about $100,000, that is a payback of 51 years, and the turbine is built to last about 20.
What to do in Sierra County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Sierra County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 7.8 m/s at the hub against 5.05 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,641 kWh a year here against the turbine's 1,287, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 39¢/kWh, 2.5 times what NM pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 7.8 m/s instead of 5.05. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of NM
Sierra County is the 1,430th 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 Sierra County
April is the strongest month here, at 6.46 m/s and about 1,901 kWh. August is the weakest, 3.71 m/s and 442 kWh, so the best month makes 4.3 times the worst. November to March brings in 44% of the year's output in Sierra County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 4.89 m/s | 1,003 kWh | $154 |
| February | 5.48 m/s | 1,220 kWh | $187 |
| March | 5.91 m/s | 1,620 kWh | $249 |
| April | 6.46 m/s | 1,901 kWh | $292 |
| May | 6.02 m/s | 1,687 kWh | $259 |
| June | 5.35 m/s | 1,230 kWh | $189 |
| July | 3.90 m/s | 518 kWh | $79 |
| August | 3.71 m/s | 442 kWh | $68 |
| September | 4.25 m/s | 647 kWh | $99 |
| October | 4.88 m/s | 998 kWh | $153 |
| November | 4.87 m/s | 961 kWh | $147 |
| December | 4.88 m/s | 998 kWh | $153 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Sierra County averages 3.86 m/s; at 50 m it is 5.72 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.244, typical of ordinary open country. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 9,787 to 17,638 kWh a year, 80% 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 | 4.57 m/s | 9,787 kWh | 67 years |
| 30 m | 5.05 m/s | 12,871 kWh | 51 years |
| 40 m | 5.42 m/s | 15,440 kWh | 42 years |
| 50 m | 5.72 m/s | 17,638 kWh | 37 years |
Counties around Sierra County
5 of the 6 closest counties are windier at turbine height; the windiest, Grant County, averages 5.52 m/s.
- Doña Ana County, NM: 5.01 m/s, 12,602 kWh, payback 52 years (57 mi)
- Socorro County, NM: 5.09 m/s, 13,146 kWh, payback 50 years (62 mi)
- Luna County, NM: 5.33 m/s, 14,821 kWh, payback 44 years (72 mi)
- Grant County, NM: 5.52 m/s, 16,181 kWh, payback 40 years (74 mi)
- Catron County, NM: 5.45 m/s, 15,677 kWh, payback 42 years (88 mi)
- Otero County, NM: 5.15 m/s, 13,560 kWh, payback 48 years (90 mi)
Sun versus wind in Sierra County
Sierra County gets 5.62 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,641 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 1,287. Kilowatt for kilowatt, panels make 1.3 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.