[DiogenesLamp]

Bottom line to wind: At a MINIMUM it takes 25 years to break even...but they only last 20 years, if that long.

In my opinion, an investment that doesn't break even within at least 7 years is a bust.

This is a taxpayer money transfer scheme, the likes of which we have seen far too much from Washington D.C.

But I would still like to see some construction/operating cost numbers versus power output. I have a friend who claims these things actually pay for themselves, and he's a STEM major.

[CodeToad]

“This is a taxpayer money transfer scheme”

To get everyone on board, they allow funneling of the monies to farmers as leases on their lands, so the farmers keep quiet about it.

[CodeToad]

Windmill Rating Megawatts (MW)	2
Revenue Rate, from each Kilowatt Hour (KWhr)	$                   0.07
Hours in a year	8760
Average Utilization per year at max capacity	0.269
MW Hours per year at average caapcity	2356.44
Revenue (MW * Revenue Rate)	$            164,951
Install Cost	$        4,000,000
Life span in years (real world stats)	15
Amortization Install  Cost	$            266,667
Maintenance Costs per hour per megawatt hour	$                      26
Maintenance costs per year per megawatt hour	$              61,267
Land Lease Cost to farmer	$              10,000
Lifespan Cost	$            266,667
Total Annual Cost	$            337,934
Revenue	$            164,951
Balance	$         (172,983)	Costs more than it produces.
Federal Payment per Megawatt Hour	$                      23
Total Federal Payment	$              54,198
Average State subsidy	Unknown	Can be zero through over $350,000 per windmill.