Wind Turbine Payback in Washington County, CO
Wind turbine payback in Washington 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 Washington County, CO averages 5.98 m/s (13.4 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 19,556 kWh a year, worth $3,285 at CO's 16.8¢/kWh. Against an installed cost of about $100,000, that is a payback of 30 years, and the turbine is built to last about 20.
What to do in Washington County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Washington County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 7.4 m/s at the hub against 5.98 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,431 kWh a year here against the turbine's 1,956, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 26¢/kWh, 1.5 times what CO pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 7.4 m/s instead of 5.98. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of CO
Washington County is the 873rd 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 Washington County
April is the strongest month here, at 6.65 m/s and about 2,016 kWh. July is the weakest, 5.18 m/s and 1,171 kWh, so the best month makes 1.7 times the worst. November to March brings in 46% of the year's output in Washington County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 6.20 m/s | 1,798 kWh | $302 |
| February | 6.22 m/s | 1,634 kWh | $275 |
| March | 6.47 m/s | 1,966 kWh | $330 |
| April | 6.65 m/s | 2,016 kWh | $339 |
| May | 5.90 m/s | 1,613 kWh | $271 |
| June | 5.63 m/s | 1,394 kWh | $234 |
| July | 5.18 m/s | 1,171 kWh | $197 |
| August | 5.30 m/s | 1,240 kWh | $208 |
| September | 5.70 m/s | 1,437 kWh | $241 |
| October | 6.14 m/s | 1,759 kWh | $296 |
| November | 6.25 m/s | 1,773 kWh | $298 |
| December | 6.11 m/s | 1,742 kWh | $293 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Washington County averages 4.66 m/s; at 50 m it is 6.71 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.227, typical of ordinary open country. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 15,676 to 24,947 kWh a year, 59% 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 | 5.45 m/s | 15,676 kWh | 38 years |
| 30 m | 5.98 m/s | 19,521 kWh | 31 years |
| 40 m | 6.38 m/s | 22,511 kWh | 26 years |
| 50 m | 6.71 m/s | 24,947 kWh | 24 years |
Counties around Washington County
3 of the 6 closest counties are windier at turbine height; the windiest, Kit Carson County, averages 6.18 m/s.
- Morgan County, CO: 5.37 m/s, 15,105 kWh, payback 39 years (38 mi)
- Yuma County, CO: 6.12 m/s, 20,594 kWh, payback 29 years (42 mi)
- Logan County, CO: 5.89 m/s, 18,890 kWh, payback 32 years (53 mi)
- Kit Carson County, CO: 6.18 m/s, 21,039 kWh, payback 28 years (56 mi)
- Adams County, CO: 4.87 m/s, 11,668 kWh, payback 51 years (60 mi)
- Phillips County, CO: 6.16 m/s, 20,891 kWh, payback 29 years (63 mi)
Sun versus wind in Washington County
Washington County gets 4.9 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,431 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 1,956. This is one of the rare places where a kilowatt of turbine out-produces a kilowatt of panels, by 1.4 times. 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.