Wind Turbine Payback in Weld County, CO
Wind turbine payback in Weld 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 Weld County, CO averages 4.95 m/s (11.1 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 12,199 kWh a year, worth $2,049 at CO's 16.8¢/kWh. Against an installed cost of about $100,000, that is a payback of 49 years, and the turbine is built to last about 20.
What to do in Weld County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Weld County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 7.4 m/s at the hub against 4.95 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,378 kWh a year here against the turbine's 1,220, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 41¢/kWh, 2.4 times what CO pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 7.4 m/s instead of 4.95. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of CO
Weld County is the 1,479th 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 Weld County
April is the strongest month here, at 5.66 m/s and about 1,414 kWh. July is the weakest, 4.20 m/s and 647 kWh, so the best month makes 2.2 times the worst. November to March brings in 48% of the year's output in Weld County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 5.35 m/s | 1,272 kWh | $214 |
| February | 5.25 m/s | 1,096 kWh | $184 |
| March | 5.55 m/s | 1,390 kWh | $234 |
| April | 5.66 m/s | 1,414 kWh | $238 |
| May | 4.86 m/s | 983 kWh | $165 |
| June | 4.58 m/s | 808 kWh | $136 |
| July | 4.20 m/s | 647 kWh | $109 |
| August | 4.24 m/s | 668 kWh | $112 |
| September | 4.58 m/s | 808 kWh | $136 |
| October | 5.01 m/s | 1,073 kWh | $180 |
| November | 5.03 m/s | 1,048 kWh | $176 |
| December | 5.09 m/s | 1,119 kWh | $188 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Weld County averages 3.82 m/s; at 50 m it is 5.59 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.237, typical of ordinary open country. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 9,332 to 16,689 kWh a year, 79% 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 | 4.5 m/s | 9,332 kWh | 64 years |
| 30 m | 4.95 m/s | 12,216 kWh | 49 years |
| 40 m | 5.3 m/s | 14,623 kWh | 41 years |
| 50 m | 5.59 m/s | 16,689 kWh | 36 years |
Counties around Weld County
4 of the 6 closest counties are windier at turbine height; the windiest, Laramie County, averages 6.76 m/s.
- Morgan County, CO: 5.37 m/s, 15,105 kWh, payback 39 years (36 mi)
- Adams County, CO: 4.87 m/s, 11,668 kWh, payback 51 years (47 mi)
- Laramie County, WY: 6.76 m/s, 25,311 kWh, payback 28 years (53 mi)
- Broomfield County, CO: 4.76 m/s, 10,954 kWh, payback 54 years (54 mi)
- Kimball County, NE: 6.1 m/s, 20,446 kWh, payback 38 years (57 mi)
- Larimer County, CO: 5.04 m/s, 12,805 kWh, payback 47 years (58 mi)
Sun versus wind in Weld County
Weld County gets 4.72 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,378 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 1,220. Kilowatt for kilowatt, panels make 1.1 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.