Wind Turbine Payback in Weston County, WY
Wind turbine payback in Weston 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 Weston County, WY averages 5.46 m/s (12.2 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 15,749 kWh a year, worth $2,206 at WY's 14.01¢/kWh. Against an installed cost of about $100,000, that is a payback of 45 years, and the turbine is built to last about 20.
What to do in Weston County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Weston County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 8.3 m/s at the hub against 5.46 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,296 kWh a year here against the turbine's 1,575, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 32¢/kWh, 2.3 times what WY pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 8.3 m/s instead of 5.46. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of WY
Weston County is the 1,245th 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 Weston County
January is the strongest month here, at 5.82 m/s and about 1,559 kWh. July is the weakest, 4.84 m/s and 976 kWh, so the best month makes 1.6 times the worst. November to March brings in 45% of the year's output in Weston County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 5.82 m/s | 1,559 kWh | $218 |
| February | 5.69 m/s | 1,338 kWh | $187 |
| March | 5.76 m/s | 1,526 kWh | $214 |
| April | 5.81 m/s | 1,504 kWh | $211 |
| May | 5.57 m/s | 1,405 kWh | $197 |
| June | 5.19 m/s | 1,136 kWh | $159 |
| July | 4.84 m/s | 976 kWh | $137 |
| August | 4.93 m/s | 1,025 kWh | $144 |
| September | 5.16 m/s | 1,121 kWh | $157 |
| October | 5.64 m/s | 1,449 kWh | $203 |
| November | 5.50 m/s | 1,317 kWh | $185 |
| December | 5.64 m/s | 1,449 kWh | $203 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Weston County averages 4.22 m/s; at 50 m it is 6.16 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.235, typical of ordinary open country. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 12,310 to 20,891 kWh a year, 70% 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 | 4.97 m/s | 12,310 kWh | 58 years |
| 30 m | 5.46 m/s | 15,772 kWh | 45 years |
| 40 m | 5.85 m/s | 18,560 kWh | 39 years |
| 50 m | 6.16 m/s | 20,891 kWh | 34 years |
Counties around Weston County
5 of the 6 closest counties are windier at turbine height; the windiest, Niobrara County, averages 6.56 m/s.
- Crook County, WY: 5.61 m/s, 16,834 kWh, payback 42 years (51 mi)
- Lawrence County, SD: 5.27 m/s, 14,397 kWh, payback 48 years (51 mi)
- Campbell County, WY: 6.03 m/s, 19,926 kWh, payback 36 years (53 mi)
- Niobrara County, WY: 6.56 m/s, 23,849 kWh, payback 30 years (54 mi)
- Custer County, SD: 5.58 m/s, 16,616 kWh, payback 41 years (56 mi)
- Fall River County, SD: 6.21 m/s, 21,262 kWh, payback 32 years (68 mi)
Sun versus wind in Weston County
Weston County gets 4.44 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,296 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 1,575. This is one of the rare places where a kilowatt of turbine out-produces a kilowatt of panels, by 1.2 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.