Wind Turbine Payback in Uintah County, UT
Wind turbine payback in Uintah 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 Uintah County, UT averages 4.38 m/s (9.8 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 8,632 kWh a year, worth $1,139 at UT's 13.19¢/kWh. Against an installed cost of about $100,000, that is a payback of 88 years, and the turbine is built to last about 20.
What to do in Uintah County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Uintah County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 8.7 m/s at the hub against 4.38 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,413 kWh a year here against the turbine's 863, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 58¢/kWh, 4.4 times what UT pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 8.7 m/s instead of 4.38. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of UT
Uintah County is the 1,837th windiest of 3,144 US counties at turbine height; the national middle is 4.79 m/s. The windiest in UT is Daggett County at 5.32 m/s, payback 51 years.
Month by month in Uintah County
April is the strongest month here, at 5.16 m/s and about 1,122 kWh. August is the weakest, 3.79 m/s and 474 kWh, so the best month makes 2.4 times the worst. November to March brings in 42% of the year's output in Uintah County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 4.01 m/s | 561 kWh | $74 |
| February | 4.61 m/s | 768 kWh | $101 |
| March | 4.89 m/s | 1,000 kWh | $132 |
| April | 5.16 m/s | 1,122 kWh | $148 |
| May | 4.67 m/s | 883 kWh | $116 |
| June | 4.84 m/s | 944 kWh | $125 |
| July | 3.79 m/s | 474 kWh | $63 |
| August | 3.79 m/s | 474 kWh | $63 |
| September | 4.12 m/s | 592 kWh | $78 |
| October | 4.22 m/s | 656 kWh | $87 |
| November | 4.24 m/s | 643 kWh | $85 |
| December | 4.27 m/s | 681 kWh | $90 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Uintah County averages 3.41 m/s; at 50 m it is 4.92 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.228, typical of ordinary open country. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 6,539 to 11,999 kWh a year, 83% 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 | 3.99 m/s | 6,539 kWh | over 100 years |
| 30 m | 4.38 m/s | 8,627 kWh | 88 years |
| 40 m | 4.68 m/s | 10,420 kWh | 73 years |
| 50 m | 4.92 m/s | 11,999 kWh | 63 years |
Counties around Uintah County
4 of the 6 closest counties are windier at turbine height; the windiest, Daggett County, averages 5.32 m/s.
- Duchesne County, UT: 3.72 m/s, 5,253 kWh, payback over 100 years (49 mi)
- Daggett County, UT: 5.32 m/s, 14,750 kWh, payback 51 years (53 mi)
- Carbon County, UT: 4.73 m/s, 10,762 kWh, payback 70 years (65 mi)
- Rio Blanco County, CO: 4.6 m/s, 9,947 kWh, payback 60 years (70 mi)
- Moffat County, CO: 5.05 m/s, 12,873 kWh, payback 46 years (76 mi)
- Grand County, UT: 4.35 m/s, 8,460 kWh, payback 90 years (80 mi)
Sun versus wind in Uintah County
Uintah County gets 4.84 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,413 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 863. 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.