Wind Turbine Payback in Amador County, CA
Wind turbine payback in Amador County
No. The turbine wears out before it pays for itself.
At 30 m, the height a home turbine tower usually reaches, the wind in Amador County, CA averages 3.59 m/s (8 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 4,694 kWh a year, worth $1,529 at CA's 32.58¢/kWh. Against an installed cost of about $100,000, that is a payback of 65 years, and the turbine is built to last about 20.
What to do in Amador County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Amador County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 5.4 m/s at the hub against 3.59 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,527 kWh a year here against the turbine's 469, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 107¢/kWh, 3.3 times what CA pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 5.4 m/s instead of 3.59. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of CA
Amador County is the 2,419th windiest of 3,144 US counties at turbine height; the national middle is 4.79 m/s. The windiest in CA is San Francisco County at 6.53 m/s, payback 13 years.
Month by month in Amador County
December is the strongest month here, at 4.26 m/s and about 673 kWh. July is the weakest, 2.99 m/s and 218 kWh, so the best month makes 3.1 times the worst. November to March brings in 58% of the year's output in Amador County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 4.17 m/s | 633 kWh | $206 |
| February | 4.15 m/s | 565 kWh | $184 |
| March | 3.80 m/s | 479 kWh | $156 |
| April | 3.47 m/s | 345 kWh | $112 |
| May | 3.29 m/s | 302 kWh | $98 |
| June | 3.23 m/s | 275 kWh | $90 |
| July | 2.99 m/s | 218 kWh | $71 |
| August | 3.00 m/s | 221 kWh | $72 |
| September | 3.34 m/s | 305 kWh | $99 |
| October | 3.54 m/s | 383 kWh | $125 |
| November | 3.82 m/s | 470 kWh | $153 |
| December | 4.26 m/s | 673 kWh | $219 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Amador County averages 2.64 m/s; at 50 m it is 4.14 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.280, typical of ordinary open country. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 3,242 to 7,301 kWh a year, 125% more, before counting the extra cost of the taller tower. Why tower height decides it explains the shear behind these numbers.
| Hub height | Average wind | Output | Payback |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20 m | 3.2 m/s | 3,242 kWh | 95 years |
| 30 m | 3.59 m/s | 4,687 kWh | 66 years |
| 40 m | 3.89 m/s | 6,034 kWh | 51 years |
| 50 m | 4.14 m/s | 7,301 kWh | 42 years |
Counties around Amador County
1 of the 6 closest counties is windier at turbine height; the windiest, Sacramento County, averages 3.82 m/s.
- Calaveras County, CA: 3.22 m/s, 3,299 kWh, payback 93 years (18 mi)
- El Dorado County, CA: 3.43 m/s, 4,056 kWh, payback 76 years (25 mi)
- Sacramento County, CA: 3.82 m/s, 5,707 kWh, payback 54 years (37 mi)
- Placer County, CA: 3.43 m/s, 4,056 kWh, payback 76 years (43 mi)
- Tuolumne County, CA: 3.32 m/s, 3,648 kWh, payback 84 years (47 mi)
- Alpine County, CA: 3.53 m/s, 4,449 kWh, payback 69 years (48 mi)
Sun versus wind in Amador County
Amador County gets 5.23 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,527 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 469. Kilowatt for kilowatt, panels make 3.3 times as much here as the turbine. Panel output assumes an 80% system performance ratio. Wind or solar runs the same comparison for every county.
How this is worked out
Wind is NASA's Power climate record, the 2001-2025 average at 10 m and 50 m for the county's centre, carried to 30 m with this county's own measured wind shear and spread into hours with a Rayleigh distribution. The turbine is a generic 10 kW, 7 m rotor machine with 10% losses. Cost is $10,000 per kW installed with no tax credit, because the federal one ended in 2025. One county-centre number cannot see your hilltop or your tree line, so treat it as the starting point for a site survey, not a substitute. The full method and its weak spots are in how the numbers are made.