Wind Turbine Payback in Tillamook County, OR
Wind turbine payback in Tillamook 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 Tillamook County, OR averages 4.01 m/s (9 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 6,628 kWh a year, worth $1,025 at OR's 15.46¢/kWh. Against an installed cost of about $100,000, that is a payback of 98 years, and the turbine is built to last about 20.
What to do in Tillamook County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Tillamook County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 7.8 m/s at the hub against 4.01 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,072 kWh a year here against the turbine's 663, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 75¢/kWh, 4.9 times what OR pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 7.8 m/s instead of 4.01. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of OR
Tillamook County is the 2,052nd windiest of 3,144 US counties at turbine height; the national middle is 4.79 m/s. The windiest in OR is Gilliam County at 5.48 m/s, payback 41 years.
Month by month in Tillamook County
December is the strongest month here, at 4.79 m/s and about 946 kWh. August is the weakest, 3.35 m/s and 320 kWh, so the best month makes 3.0 times the worst. November to March brings in 58% of the year's output in Tillamook County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 4.74 m/s | 922 kWh | $143 |
| February | 4.29 m/s | 624 kWh | $96 |
| March | 4.27 m/s | 679 kWh | $105 |
| April | 3.88 m/s | 494 kWh | $76 |
| May | 3.51 m/s | 371 kWh | $57 |
| June | 3.50 m/s | 356 kWh | $55 |
| July | 3.48 m/s | 362 kWh | $56 |
| August | 3.35 m/s | 320 kWh | $49 |
| September | 3.55 m/s | 371 kWh | $57 |
| October | 4.05 m/s | 580 kWh | $90 |
| November | 4.63 m/s | 834 kWh | $129 |
| December | 4.79 m/s | 946 kWh | $146 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Tillamook County averages 2.96 m/s; at 50 m it is 4.61 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.275, typical of ordinary open country. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 4,666 to 10,008 kWh a year, 114% 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 | 3.58 m/s | 4,666 kWh | over 100 years |
| 30 m | 4.01 m/s | 6,607 kWh | 98 years |
| 40 m | 4.34 m/s | 8,378 kWh | 77 years |
| 50 m | 4.61 m/s | 10,008 kWh | 65 years |
Counties around Tillamook County
None of the 6 closest counties is windier than Tillamook County.
- Yamhill County, OR: 3.46 m/s, 4,172 kWh, payback over 100 years (26 mi)
- Washington County, OR: 3.29 m/s, 3,541 kWh, payback over 100 years (33 mi)
- Clatsop County, OR: 3.95 m/s, 6,329 kWh, payback over 100 years (39 mi)
- Polk County, OR: 3.46 m/s, 4,172 kWh, payback over 100 years (42 mi)
- Columbia County, OR: 3 m/s, 2,601 kWh, payback over 100 years (47 mi)
- Lincoln County, OR: 3.57 m/s, 4,612 kWh, payback over 100 years (57 mi)
Sun versus wind in Tillamook County
Tillamook County gets 3.67 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,072 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 663. Kilowatt for kilowatt, panels make 1.6 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.