Wind Turbine Payback in Steele County, ND
Wind turbine payback in Steele 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 Steele County, ND averages 6.41 m/s (14.3 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 22,743 kWh a year, worth $2,834 at ND's 12.46¢/kWh. Against an installed cost of about $100,000, that is a payback of 35 years, and the turbine is built to last about 20.
What to do in Steele County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Steele County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 9.1 m/s at the hub against 6.41 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,121 kWh a year here against the turbine's 2,274, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 22¢/kWh, 1.8 times what ND pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 9.1 m/s instead of 6.41. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of ND
Steele County is the 309th windiest of 3,144 US counties at turbine height; the national middle is 4.79 m/s. The windiest in ND is Bowman County at 6.79 m/s, payback 31 years.
Month by month in Steele County
October is the strongest month here, at 6.98 m/s and about 2,287 kWh. July is the weakest, 5.55 m/s and 1,395 kWh, so the best month makes 1.6 times the worst. November to March brings in 43% of the year's output in Steele County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 6.49 m/s | 1,981 kWh | $247 |
| February | 6.43 m/s | 1,754 kWh | $219 |
| March | 6.63 m/s | 2,071 kWh | $258 |
| April | 6.85 m/s | 2,133 kWh | $266 |
| May | 6.71 m/s | 2,121 kWh | $264 |
| June | 6.08 m/s | 1,671 kWh | $208 |
| July | 5.55 m/s | 1,395 kWh | $174 |
| August | 5.68 m/s | 1,473 kWh | $184 |
| September | 6.52 m/s | 1,939 kWh | $242 |
| October | 6.98 m/s | 2,287 kWh | $285 |
| November | 6.67 m/s | 2,026 kWh | $252 |
| December | 6.33 m/s | 1,880 kWh | $234 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Steele County averages 5.09 m/s; at 50 m it is 7.13 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.209, typical of ordinary open country. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 18,871 to 27,967 kWh a year, 48% 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 | 18,871 kWh | 43 years |
| 30 m | 6.41 m/s | 22,728 kWh | 35 years |
| 40 m | 6.81 m/s | 25,639 kWh | 31 years |
| 50 m | 7.13 m/s | 27,967 kWh | 29 years |
Counties around Steele County
3 of the 6 closest counties are windier at turbine height; the windiest, Nelson County, averages 6.53 m/s.
- Griggs County, ND: 6.5 m/s, 23,407 kWh, payback 34 years (24 mi)
- Traill County, ND: 6.29 m/s, 21,855 kWh, payback 37 years (26 mi)
- Grand Forks County, ND: 6.4 m/s, 22,669 kWh, payback 35 years (35 mi)
- Barnes County, ND: 6.44 m/s, 22,964 kWh, payback 35 years (39 mi)
- Nelson County, ND: 6.53 m/s, 23,628 kWh, payback 34 years (39 mi)
- Cass County, ND: 6.35 m/s, 22,299 kWh, payback 36 years (42 mi)
Sun versus wind in Steele County
Steele County gets 3.84 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,121 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 2,274. This is one of the rare places where a kilowatt of turbine out-produces a kilowatt of panels, by 2.0 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.