Wind Turbine Payback in Summit County, CO
Wind turbine payback in Summit 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 Summit County, CO averages 3.59 m/s (8 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 4,694 kWh a year, worth $789 at CO's 16.8¢/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 Summit County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Summit County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 7.4 m/s at the hub against 3.59 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,407 kWh a year here against the turbine's 469, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 107¢/kWh, 6.3 times what CO pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 7.4 m/s instead of 3.59. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of CO
Summit County is the 2,419th windiest of 3,144 US counties at turbine height; the national middle is 4.79 m/s. The windiest in CO is Baca County at 6.65 m/s, payback 24 years.
Month by month in Summit County
April is the strongest month here, at 4.19 m/s and about 622 kWh. July is the weakest, 2.55 m/s and 124 kWh, so the best month makes 5.0 times the worst. November to March brings in 54% of the year's output in Summit County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 3.88 m/s | 508 kWh | $85 |
| February | 4.18 m/s | 577 kWh | $97 |
| March | 4.02 m/s | 568 kWh | $95 |
| April | 4.19 m/s | 622 kWh | $104 |
| May | 3.62 m/s | 411 kWh | $69 |
| June | 3.40 m/s | 323 kWh | $54 |
| July | 2.55 m/s | 124 kWh | $21 |
| August | 2.62 m/s | 137 kWh | $23 |
| September | 3.07 m/s | 230 kWh | $39 |
| October | 3.70 m/s | 439 kWh | $74 |
| November | 3.91 m/s | 505 kWh | $85 |
| December | 3.96 m/s | 543 kWh | $91 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Summit County averages 2.5 m/s; at 50 m it is 4.25 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.330, typical of rough, sheltered ground: trees or buildings slow the low wind a lot. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 3,037 to 7,897 kWh a year, 160% 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 | 3.14 m/s | 3,037 kWh | over 100 years |
| 30 m | 3.59 m/s | 4,697 kWh | over 100 years |
| 40 m | 3.95 m/s | 6,320 kWh | 94 years |
| 50 m | 4.25 m/s | 7,897 kWh | 75 years |
Counties around Summit County
4 of the 6 closest counties are windier at turbine height; the windiest, Park County, averages 5.21 m/s.
- Clear Creek County, CO: 4.63 m/s, 10,132 kWh, payback 59 years (25 mi)
- Eagle County, CO: 3.34 m/s, 3,720 kWh, payback over 100 years (30 mi)
- Lake County, CO: 5.03 m/s, 12,737 kWh, payback 47 years (31 mi)
- Grand County, CO: 3.36 m/s, 3,794 kWh, payback over 100 years (34 mi)
- Gilpin County, CO: 4.87 m/s, 11,668 kWh, payback 51 years (36 mi)
- Park County, CO: 5.21 m/s, 13,976 kWh, payback 43 years (41 mi)
Sun versus wind in Summit County
Summit County gets 4.82 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,407 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 469. Kilowatt for kilowatt, panels make 3.0 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.