Wind turbine cost, once the whole project is counted
Wind turbine cost is 2 numbers, what the machine costs and what the whole project built around it costs, and mixing the 2 up is the easiest way to misread a figure in this business. A kilowatt is a basic unit of electric power, and the price of a wind project is almost always measured per kilowatt of capacity, not per turbine. Building a United States onshore wind project cost about 1,700 dollars for every kilowatt of capacity in 2023, a capacity weighted average, meaning bigger projects count for more of it, across real projects, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, source 1. The United States Department of Energy states a range of 1,200 to 1,800 dollars per kilowatt, a bracket that lines up with that figure, source 3.
That laboratory report prints the national figure as 1,700 dollars per megawatt, which does not match 2 lower regional figures on the same page, both stated per kilowatt. Checking it against the totals in that report, 6.5 gigawatts added in 2023 for 10.8 billion dollars, works out to about 1,662 dollars per kilowatt, confirming a labeling error. This article states the figure correctly, per kilowatt.
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Land Based Wind Market Report, 2024 edition, data year 2023. The Southwest Power Pool and the grid operator covering most of Texas were the 2 lowest cost regions the report names.
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| Southwest Power Pool | 1,320 |
| Grid operator for Texas | 1,370 |
| National average | 1,700 |
Offshore wind, where turbines stand in the ocean instead of on land, cost far more, 3,500 to 4,000 dollars per kilowatt in the United States, more than double the onshore figure, source 3.
Why the United States costs more than the world average
Globally, wind costs far less. The International Renewable Energy Agency keeps a cost database, which puts the global weighted average onshore installed cost at 1,041 dollars per kilowatt in 2024, and offshore at 2,852 dollars, well below the United States figures above, source 2. China installed 69.4% of the wind capacity added worldwide in 2024 at a lower cost, while permitting delays pushed United States costs higher, source 2.
Why the turbine alone is not the whole bill
The turbine is the largest line in any wind project budget, but not the whole one. A cost breakdown of a European reference project attributes 75.6% of total spending to the turbine equipment, 8.9% to connecting the project to the electric grid, 6.5% to the foundation, and 3.9% to land, source 5. That project used 2006 euro prices for a machine far smaller than the average turbine built now, so only the spending order holds, turbine first, then grid connection, then foundation, then land.
Shares from a 2006 euro reference project for a single 2 megawatt turbine, European Wind Energy Association. The turbine is far smaller than the average American turbine built now, so these are shares of a project cost, not current dollar figures.
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| Turbine equipment | 75.6 |
| Grid connection | 8.9 |
| Foundation | 6.5 |
| Land | 3.9 |
Multiplying the average 2023 turbine price, about 1,000 dollars per kilowatt, by the average new American turbine size, 3.4 megawatts, both source 1, puts 1 average American turbine at about 3.4 million dollars, a MAOWCE calculation.
Onshore and offshore installed cost ranges from the United States Department of Energy, source 3. The turbine price alone row comes from the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory 2023 range, source 1, shown on the same axis for comparison.
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| Turbine price alone | 900 to 1,100 dollars per kilowatt |
| Onshore project, installed | 1,200 to 1,800 dollars per kilowatt |
| Offshore project, installed | 3,500 to 4,000 dollars per kilowatt |
What a real project actually paid
MidAmerican Energy announced its Wind PRIME project at 3.9 billion dollars for 2,042 megawatts of new wind and 50 megawatts of new solar in Iowa, 2,092 megawatts combined, source 4. Dividing that total by the combined capacity gives about 1,864 dollars per kilowatt, a MAOWCE calculation blending in a small amount of solar, close to the national onshore average.
The Wind PRIME project will position us and our customers for a sustainable future, while ensuring we continue to deliver affordable and reliable energy.
Kelcey Brown, president and chief executive officer of MidAmerican Energy. Source 4.
MAOWCE has covered what a wind turbine is, how much bigger it has grown, and what a wind power contract costs to sign.