Wind Turbine Payback in Sublette County, WY
Wind turbine payback in Sublette 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 Sublette County, WY averages 3.96 m/s (8.9 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 6,378 kWh a year, worth $894 at WY's 14.01¢/kWh. Against an installed cost of about $100,000, that is a payback of over 100 years, and the turbine is built to last about 20.
What to do in Sublette County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Sublette County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 8.3 m/s at the hub against 3.96 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,364 kWh a year here against the turbine's 638, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 78¢/kWh, 5.6 times what WY pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 8.3 m/s instead of 3.96. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of WY
Sublette County is the 2,085th windiest of 3,144 US counties at turbine height; the national middle is 4.79 m/s. The windiest in WY is Albany County at 7.32 m/s, payback 24 years.
Month by month in Sublette County
January is the strongest month here, at 4.24 m/s and about 666 kWh. July is the weakest, 3.42 m/s and 342 kWh, so the best month makes 1.9 times the worst. November to March brings in 48% of the year's output in Sublette County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 4.24 m/s | 666 kWh | $93 |
| February | 4.27 m/s | 612 kWh | $86 |
| March | 4.21 m/s | 654 kWh | $92 |
| April | 4.23 m/s | 641 kWh | $90 |
| May | 3.92 m/s | 524 kWh | $73 |
| June | 3.92 m/s | 507 kWh | $71 |
| July | 3.42 m/s | 342 kWh | $48 |
| August | 3.45 m/s | 350 kWh | $49 |
| September | 3.71 m/s | 429 kWh | $60 |
| October | 4.01 m/s | 563 kWh | $79 |
| November | 4.04 m/s | 555 kWh | $78 |
| December | 4.13 m/s | 615 kWh | $86 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Sublette County averages 2.8 m/s; at 50 m it is 4.65 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.315, typical of rough, sheltered ground: trees or buildings slow the low wind a lot. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 4,266 to 10,257 kWh a year, 140% 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 | 3.48 m/s | 4,266 kWh | over 100 years |
| 30 m | 3.96 m/s | 6,372 kWh | over 100 years |
| 40 m | 4.33 m/s | 8,371 kWh | 85 years |
| 50 m | 4.65 m/s | 10,257 kWh | 70 years |
Counties around Sublette County
3 of the 6 closest counties are windier at turbine height; the windiest, Sweetwater County, averages 6.42 m/s.
- Lincoln County, WY: 4.83 m/s, 11,407 kWh, payback 63 years (54 mi)
- Fremont County, WY: 5.48 m/s, 15,893 kWh, payback 45 years (69 mi)
- Bear Lake County, ID: 3.5 m/s, 4,329 kWh, payback over 100 years (79 mi)
- Caribou County, ID: 3.51 m/s, 4,368 kWh, payback over 100 years (83 mi)
- Teton County, WY: 3.63 m/s, 4,862 kWh, payback over 100 years (92 mi)
- Sweetwater County, WY: 6.42 m/s, 22,817 kWh, payback 31 years (93 mi)
Sun versus wind in Sublette County
Sublette County gets 4.67 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,364 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 638. Kilowatt for kilowatt, panels make 2.1 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.