Wind Turbine Payback in Whatcom County, WA
Wind turbine payback in Whatcom 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 Whatcom County, WA averages 2.31 m/s (5.2 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 989 kWh a year, worth $143 at WA's 14.42¢/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 Whatcom County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Whatcom County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 8.1 m/s at the hub against 2.31 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,025 kWh a year here against the turbine's 99, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 506¢/kWh, 35.1 times what WA pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 8.1 m/s instead of 2.31. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of WA
Whatcom County is the 3,144th windiest of 3,144 US counties at turbine height; the national middle is 4.79 m/s. The windiest in WA is Columbia County at 5.18 m/s, payback 50 years.
Month by month in Whatcom County
January is the strongest month here, at 2.92 m/s and about 201 kWh. August is the weakest, 1.71 m/s and 20 kWh, so the best month makes 10.1 times the worst. November to March brings in 72% of the year's output in Whatcom County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 2.92 m/s | 201 kWh | $29 |
| February | 2.60 m/s | 120 kWh | $17 |
| March | 2.62 m/s | 136 kWh | $20 |
| April | 2.26 m/s | 74 kWh | $11 |
| May | 1.94 m/s | 38 kWh | $5 |
| June | 1.90 m/s | 34 kWh | $5 |
| July | 1.73 m/s | 21 kWh | $3 |
| August | 1.71 m/s | 20 kWh | $3 |
| September | 1.96 m/s | 39 kWh | $6 |
| October | 2.37 m/s | 94 kWh | $14 |
| November | 2.82 m/s | 172 kWh | $25 |
| December | 2.85 m/s | 186 kWh | $27 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Whatcom County averages 1.59 m/s; at 50 m it is 2.74 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.338, typical of rough, sheltered ground: trees or buildings slow the low wind a lot. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 539 to 1,895 kWh a year, 252% 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 | 2.01 m/s | 539 kWh | over 100 years |
| 30 m | 2.31 m/s | 982 kWh | over 100 years |
| 40 m | 2.54 m/s | 1,436 kWh | over 100 years |
| 50 m | 2.74 m/s | 1,895 kWh | over 100 years |
Counties around Whatcom County
6 of the 6 closest counties are windier at turbine height; the windiest, San Juan County, averages 3.83 m/s.
- Skagit County, WA: 2.34 m/s, 1,043 kWh, payback over 100 years (24 mi)
- Snohomish County, WA: 2.49 m/s, 1,330 kWh, payback over 100 years (55 mi)
- Island County, WA: 2.56 m/s, 1,477 kWh, payback over 100 years (61 mi)
- San Juan County, WA: 3.83 m/s, 5,753 kWh, payback over 100 years (62 mi)
- Chelan County, WA: 2.51 m/s, 1,371 kWh, payback over 100 years (88 mi)
- Kitsap County, WA: 2.97 m/s, 2,513 kWh, payback over 100 years (91 mi)
Sun versus wind in Whatcom County
Whatcom County gets 3.51 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,025 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 99. Kilowatt for kilowatt, panels make 10.4 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.