Wind Turbine Payback in Washakie County, WY
Wind turbine payback in Washakie 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 Washakie County, WY averages 4.36 m/s (9.8 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 8,517 kWh a year, worth $1,193 at WY's 14.01¢/kWh. Against an installed cost of about $100,000, that is a payback of 84 years, and the turbine is built to last about 20.
What to do in Washakie County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Washakie County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 8.3 m/s at the hub against 4.36 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,332 kWh a year here against the turbine's 852, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 59¢/kWh, 4.2 times what WY pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 8.3 m/s instead of 4.36. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of WY
Washakie County is the 1,851st 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 Washakie County
March is the strongest month here, at 4.73 m/s and about 916 kWh. August is the weakest, 4.05 m/s and 579 kWh, so the best month makes 1.6 times the worst. November to March brings in 43% of the year's output in Washakie County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 4.31 m/s | 701 kWh | $98 |
| February | 4.42 m/s | 681 kWh | $95 |
| March | 4.73 m/s | 916 kWh | $128 |
| April | 4.69 m/s | 863 kWh | $121 |
| May | 4.56 m/s | 822 kWh | $115 |
| June | 4.42 m/s | 729 kWh | $102 |
| July | 4.08 m/s | 594 kWh | $83 |
| August | 4.05 m/s | 579 kWh | $81 |
| September | 4.21 m/s | 630 kWh | $88 |
| October | 4.27 m/s | 680 kWh | $95 |
| November | 4.26 m/s | 654 kWh | $92 |
| December | 4.27 m/s | 680 kWh | $95 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Washakie County averages 3.42 m/s; at 50 m it is 4.88 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.221, typical of ordinary open country. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 6,504 to 11,734 kWh a year, 80% 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 | 6,504 kWh | over 100 years |
| 30 m | 4.36 m/s | 8,512 kWh | 84 years |
| 40 m | 4.65 m/s | 10,227 kWh | 70 years |
| 50 m | 4.88 m/s | 11,734 kWh | 61 years |
Counties around Washakie County
5 of the 6 closest counties are windier at turbine height; the windiest, Natrona County, averages 6.38 m/s.
- Hot Springs County, WY: 4.66 m/s, 10,320 kWh, payback 69 years (40 mi)
- Big Horn County, WY: 4.34 m/s, 8,403 kWh, payback 85 years (47 mi)
- Johnson County, WY: 4.98 m/s, 12,400 kWh, payback 58 years (55 mi)
- Sheridan County, WY: 5.63 m/s, 16,980 kWh, payback 42 years (74 mi)
- Fremont County, WY: 5.48 m/s, 15,893 kWh, payback 45 years (74 mi)
- Natrona County, WY: 6.38 m/s, 22,521 kWh, payback 32 years (77 mi)
Sun versus wind in Washakie County
Washakie County gets 4.56 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,332 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 852. 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.