Financial Payback & Incentives for Wind Systems

Wind Energy Payback and wind resources

The number of years to recover the initial investment in a wind system depends first of all on the site's wind resources. If they aren't sufficiently high and constant, the investment will be always a bad one, with a payback of many years.

See, for details:
Wind speed and wind maps


A case study and the payback

Since wind electrical generators are of very different types and their performance and costs are very dependent on the wind resources and conditions as grid-connection or the proximity of power lines, it’s difficult to establish the number of years to recover the initial investment (payback). It varies a lot.

In a case recently studied by the University of Strathclyde, in England, involving a small wind system of 15kW power - able to produce 5.626 kWh/month, an amount sufficient to fulfill the average needs of five to ten homes - the payback was 13 years for the stand alone system and 11 years for the on-grid system. The initial cost was 46.500£ for the stand-alone system (wind turbine, battery and inverter) and 39.000£ for the grid connected wind system.

For detailed information on the initial investment costs of wind turbines, see:
Wind Systems Costs.


State incentives and grants to wind energy

Though the wind energy is already competitive comparatively to other electrical energy sources in sites with good wind resources, state financial incentives may render the investment much more attractive and the payback much shorter.


Financial incentives to wind systems in several countries

USA
To look for incentives to wind energy systems in USA see the database of the State Initiatives for Renewable Energy: DSIRE. It includes information on state, local, utility and federal financial incentives to wind and renewables.

For financial incentives to small wind systems in Canada, see:
Canadian Wind Energy Association

For Australian issues concerning the wind energy, see:
Department of Climate Change





See also:
Basics on Wind electric generators
Wind Maps and data
Stand alone systems
On-grid systems


Return to Energy-Savings Home Page