Wind Turbines Cost

As wind power becomes increasingly popular, wind turbines’ cost gradually goes down. Wind turbines used to make electricity are not new. They have been manufactured for around 100 years and are constantly evolving. With the evolution came lower prices, as it happens with most technologies as they become more popular.

There are different types of models. Wind turbines cost more if they are designed for a commercial purpose, like the ones we see on wind farms. They will cost less if they are designed for small wind generation. Commercial wind turbines have to be sturdier and placed in locations of difficult access. They cost between $25,000 and $100,000 each unit, depending on size. Residential wind turbines cost a lot less, between $2,000 and $15,000, excluding tower costs. A new generation of micro wind turbines cost as little as $600, although their energy output is smaller as well.

Another way of looking at pricing is the cost per kilowatt of energy produced. According to a wind power specialist website Windindustry.org, commercial-scale turbines, which on average are 2 MW, cost about $3.5 million installed. One important aspect of wind power is that this type of energy has “significant economies of scale”, that is, smaller turbines cost less but are more expensive per kilowatt of energy producing capacity. “Wind turbines under 100 kilowatts [residential ones] cost roughly $3,000 to $5,000 per kilowatt of capacity. That means a 10 kilowatt machine (the size needed to power an average home) might cost $35,000-$50,000”, the website says.

There are several other price components that have to be factored in when calculating the cost of wind turbines. These include wind resource assessment, construction costs, permitting and interconnection studies, utility system upgrades, transformers, protection and metering equipment, insurance, warranty, maintenance, repair, legal fees etc. In some cases the costs can be offset with tax breaks available. Long-term ROI means costs will be compensated for by the generation of electricity and feed-in tariffs.