Basic price of wind power system

How much do commercial wind turbines cost? A utility-scale wind turbine costs between $1.3 million to $2.2 million per MW of installed nameplate capacity. Most commercial-scale turbines installed nowadays are 2 MW in capacity and cost between $3 and $4 million to install.

In low wind areas, the costs are significantly higher, at around 8-11 c€/kWh, while the production costs range between 5 and 7 c€/kWh in coastal areas.

The location of a wind farm can have a profound effect on cost. While a wind turbine in Europe or the United States can cost about $1 million per MW, turbines installed in countries like Brazil can be as cheap as $500,000 per MW. Once the turbines are erected, they must be wired to the electrical grid.

The most powerful 12 MW wind turbine costs up to $400 million to manufacture and install. Costs for utility-scale wind turbines can be broken down into three categories: manufacturing, transport and installation, and operations and maintenance.

The total cost per kWh produced (unit cost) is calculated by discounting and levelising investment and O&M costs over the lifetime of the turbine, and then dividing them by the annual electricity production. The unit cost of generation is thus calculated as an average cost over the turbine's lifetime.

Large offshore turbines can cost tens of millions of dollars, with the most powerful 12 MW turbines reaching up to $400 million (≈12820.5 years of non-stop work at $15/hour - exceeding the time since the end of the last Ice Age) for manufacturing and installation.