Wind Turbine Vs Solar Panel Cost

Comparing the top renewables.

Wind turbine vs solar panel cost.

The gross system cost is approximately 39 000. Over the course of 14 months the solar panels produced about five times as much electricity as the wind turbine. Wind solar are actually even much cheaper than dirty energy more so than lazard shows the estimates above are supposedly unsubsidized but if you include social externalities as. But the enormous power generating capacity of wind turbines doesn t make wind energy a clear winner.

Below i will compare the net system cost of a solar array and a wind turbine both with an annual energy output of 16 500 kwh. In the united states wind power is significantly more popular than solar. A 10 kw turbine can cost 40 000 or more without shipping and cost of installation. A wind generator on the other hand has the potential to produce power 24 hours a day.

Much as we d all like to be green first we do have some considerations when it comes to money that help us make decisions on which route we need to take in this solar vs wind energy comparison. Compared to solar panels wind turbines release less co2 to the atmosphere consume less energy and produce more energy overall. The construction costs for onshore wind generators in 2016 reached 1 630 kw a slight decrease from 2015. Solar vs wind cost per watt of power.

Lower cost per kwh produced. Capacity weighted costs tend to be lower for larger wind plants. Maintenance and operational costs of the wind turbines which consists of insurance cost regular maintenance repair and. In the past three years most new wind capacity has been larger plants 89 of 2016 wind turbine additions were to sites with more than 100 megawatts.

Wind generators solar panels cost 1100 to 1800 400 to 1200. Solar panels produce power only when the sun shines. Even if a wind generator produces only 20 watts it does it 24 hours a day. However a wind turbine has far higher ongoing maintenance costs than solar panels and typically only has a 5 year warranty.

In fact one wind turbine can generate the same amount of electricity per kwh as about 48 704 solar panels. This means that over the life of a wind turbine and solar system the actual cost per kwh with solar is less than half the lifetime cost per kwh of wind for small scale systems. 44 solar panels will produce 16 500 kwh annually. Which is 16 000 compared to the 10 000 average cost of 4 kw generating solar panels.

Wind turbine systems can run as high as 65 000 installed while the average cost nationally for a professionally installed solar panel system is about 8 to 9 per watt. The easiest way to break down this aspect of the debate is at a per watt of power figure.