Wind Turbine Payback in Yamhill County, OR
Wind turbine payback in Yamhill 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 Yamhill County, OR averages 3.46 m/s (7.7 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 4,172 kWh a year, worth $645 at OR's 15.46¢/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 Yamhill County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Yamhill County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 7.8 m/s at the hub against 3.46 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,072 kWh a year here against the turbine's 417, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 120¢/kWh, 7.8 times what OR pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 7.8 m/s instead of 3.46. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of OR
Yamhill County is the 2,562nd windiest of 3,144 US counties at turbine height; the national middle is 4.79 m/s. The windiest in OR is Gilliam County at 5.48 m/s, payback 41 years.
Month by month in Yamhill County
December is the strongest month here, at 4.07 m/s and about 589 kWh. August is the weakest, 2.95 m/s and 208 kWh, so the best month makes 2.8 times the worst. November to March brings in 58% of the year's output in Yamhill County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 4.00 m/s | 559 kWh | $86 |
| February | 3.69 m/s | 392 kWh | $61 |
| March | 3.79 m/s | 472 kWh | $73 |
| April | 3.41 m/s | 326 kWh | $50 |
| May | 3.03 m/s | 229 kWh | $35 |
| June | 3.02 m/s | 219 kWh | $34 |
| July | 2.95 m/s | 208 kWh | $32 |
| August | 2.95 m/s | 208 kWh | $32 |
| September | 3.15 m/s | 252 kWh | $39 |
| October | 3.57 m/s | 391 kWh | $60 |
| November | 3.98 m/s | 531 kWh | $82 |
| December | 4.07 m/s | 589 kWh | $91 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Yamhill County averages 2.45 m/s; at 50 m it is 4.07 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.315, typical of rough, sheltered ground: trees or buildings slow the low wind a lot. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 2,750 to 6,934 kWh a year, 152% 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 | 3.05 m/s | 2,750 kWh | over 100 years |
| 30 m | 3.47 m/s | 4,191 kWh | over 100 years |
| 40 m | 3.79 m/s | 5,586 kWh | over 100 years |
| 50 m | 4.07 m/s | 6,934 kWh | 93 years |
Counties around Yamhill County
1 of the 6 closest counties is windier at turbine height; the windiest, Tillamook County, averages 4.01 m/s.
- Washington County, OR: 3.29 m/s, 3,541 kWh, payback over 100 years (24 mi)
- Polk County, OR: 3.46 m/s, 4,172 kWh, payback over 100 years (24 mi)
- Tillamook County, OR: 4.01 m/s, 6,628 kWh, payback 98 years (26 mi)
- Marion County, OR: 3.23 m/s, 3,333 kWh, payback over 100 years (43 mi)
- Multnomah County, OR: 3.39 m/s, 3,905 kWh, payback over 100 years (48 mi)
- Columbia County, OR: 3 m/s, 2,601 kWh, payback over 100 years (49 mi)
Sun versus wind in Yamhill County
Yamhill County gets 3.67 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,072 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 417. Kilowatt for kilowatt, panels make 2.6 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.