Wind Turbine Payback in Weber County, UT
Wind turbine payback in Weber 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 Weber County, UT averages 3.08 m/s (6.9 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 2,844 kWh a year, worth $375 at UT's 13.19¢/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 Weber County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Weber County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 8.7 m/s at the hub against 3.08 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,396 kWh a year here against the turbine's 284, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 176¢/kWh, 13.3 times what UT pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 8.7 m/s instead of 3.08. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of UT
Weber County is the 3,002nd 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 Weber County
March is the strongest month here, at 3.42 m/s and about 341 kWh. July is the weakest, 2.83 m/s and 180 kWh, so the best month makes 1.9 times the worst. November to March brings in 45% of the year's output in Weber County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 2.96 m/s | 210 kWh | $28 |
| February | 3.29 m/s | 272 kWh | $36 |
| March | 3.42 m/s | 341 kWh | $45 |
| April | 3.41 m/s | 327 kWh | $43 |
| May | 3.02 m/s | 227 kWh | $30 |
| June | 3.09 m/s | 237 kWh | $31 |
| July | 2.83 m/s | 180 kWh | $24 |
| August | 2.90 m/s | 196 kWh | $26 |
| September | 2.98 m/s | 209 kWh | $28 |
| October | 2.94 m/s | 206 kWh | $27 |
| November | 3.02 m/s | 220 kWh | $29 |
| December | 3.03 m/s | 229 kWh | $30 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Weber County averages 2.22 m/s; at 50 m it is 3.58 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.297, typical of ordinary open country. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 1,863 to 4,653 kWh a year, 150% 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 | 2.73 m/s | 1,863 kWh | over 100 years |
| 30 m | 3.08 m/s | 2,832 kWh | over 100 years |
| 40 m | 3.35 m/s | 3,759 kWh | over 100 years |
| 50 m | 3.58 m/s | 4,653 kWh | over 100 years |
Counties around Weber County
5 of the 6 closest counties are windier at turbine height; the windiest, Rich County, averages 4.61 m/s.
- Morgan County, UT: 3.22 m/s, 3,299 kWh, payback over 100 years (20 mi)
- Davis County, UT: 3.95 m/s, 6,329 kWh, payback over 100 years (23 mi)
- Cache County, UT: 3.08 m/s, 2,844 kWh, payback over 100 years (33 mi)
- Rich County, UT: 4.61 m/s, 10,008 kWh, payback 76 years (41 mi)
- Salt Lake County, UT: 3.41 m/s, 3,980 kWh, payback over 100 years (42 mi)
- Summit County, UT: 3.82 m/s, 5,707 kWh, payback over 100 years (55 mi)
Sun versus wind in Weber County
Weber County gets 4.78 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,396 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 284. Kilowatt for kilowatt, panels make 4.9 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.