Wind Turbine Payback in Socorro County, NM
Wind turbine payback in Socorro 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 Socorro County, NM averages 5.09 m/s (11.4 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 13,146 kWh a year, worth $2,017 at NM's 15.34¢/kWh. Against an installed cost of about $100,000, that is a payback of 50 years, and the turbine is built to last about 20.
What to do in Socorro County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Socorro County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 7.8 m/s at the hub against 5.09 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,664 kWh a year here against the turbine's 1,315, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 38¢/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 5.09. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of NM
Socorro County is the 1,408th 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 Socorro County
April is the strongest month here, at 6.32 m/s and about 1,816 kWh. August is the weakest, 3.68 m/s and 433 kWh, so the best month makes 4.2 times the worst. November to March brings in 48% of the year's output in Socorro County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 5.28 m/s | 1,227 kWh | $188 |
| February | 5.76 m/s | 1,378 kWh | $211 |
| March | 5.91 m/s | 1,615 kWh | $248 |
| April | 6.32 m/s | 1,816 kWh | $279 |
| May | 5.75 m/s | 1,515 kWh | $232 |
| June | 5.08 m/s | 1,077 kWh | $165 |
| July | 3.77 m/s | 466 kWh | $71 |
| August | 3.68 m/s | 433 kWh | $66 |
| September | 4.33 m/s | 686 kWh | $105 |
| October | 4.98 m/s | 1,051 kWh | $161 |
| November | 5.11 m/s | 1,092 kWh | $168 |
| December | 5.21 m/s | 1,185 kWh | $182 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Socorro County averages 3.92 m/s; at 50 m it is 5.75 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.238, typical of ordinary open country. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 10,091 to 17,859 kWh a year, 77% 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 | 4.62 m/s | 10,091 kWh | 65 years |
| 30 m | 5.09 m/s | 13,159 kWh | 50 years |
| 40 m | 5.45 m/s | 15,696 kWh | 42 years |
| 50 m | 5.75 m/s | 17,859 kWh | 37 years |
Counties around Socorro County
3 of the 6 closest counties are windier at turbine height; the windiest, Torrance County, averages 6.4 m/s.
- Valencia County, NM: 4.65 m/s, 10,257 kWh, payback 64 years (51 mi)
- Sierra County, NM: 5.05 m/s, 12,873 kWh, payback 51 years (62 mi)
- Torrance County, NM: 6.4 m/s, 22,669 kWh, payback 29 years (71 mi)
- Bernalillo County, NM: 4.45 m/s, 9,041 kWh, payback 72 years (75 mi)
- Catron County, NM: 5.45 m/s, 15,677 kWh, payback 42 years (84 mi)
- Lincoln County, NM: 5.12 m/s, 13,353 kWh, payback 49 years (87 mi)
Sun versus wind in Socorro County
Socorro County gets 5.7 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,664 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 1,315. 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.