Wind Turbine Payback in Benton County, MN
Wind turbine payback in Benton 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 Benton County, MN averages 6.13 m/s (13.7 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 20,668 kWh a year, worth $3,398 at MN's 16.44¢/kWh. Against an installed cost of about $100,000, that is a payback of 29 years, and the turbine is built to last about 20.
What to do in Benton County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Benton County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 7.5 m/s at the hub against 6.13 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,133 kWh a year here against the turbine's 2,067, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 24¢/kWh, 1.5 times what MN pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 7.5 m/s instead of 6.13. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of MN
Benton County is the 658th windiest of 3,144 US counties at turbine height; the national middle is 4.79 m/s. The windiest in MN is Lincoln County at 6.68 m/s, payback 25 years.
Month by month in Benton County
April is the strongest month here, at 6.74 m/s and about 2,070 kWh. July is the weakest, 5.16 m/s and 1,157 kWh, so the best month makes 1.8 times the worst. November to March brings in 45% of the year's output in Benton County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 6.45 m/s | 1,955 kWh | $321 |
| February | 6.52 m/s | 1,806 kWh | $297 |
| March | 6.40 m/s | 1,927 kWh | $317 |
| April | 6.74 m/s | 2,070 kWh | $340 |
| May | 6.32 m/s | 1,876 kWh | $308 |
| June | 5.76 m/s | 1,473 kWh | $242 |
| July | 5.16 m/s | 1,157 kWh | $190 |
| August | 5.22 m/s | 1,194 kWh | $196 |
| September | 6.13 m/s | 1,701 kWh | $280 |
| October | 6.49 m/s | 1,983 kWh | $326 |
| November | 6.33 m/s | 1,821 kWh | $299 |
| December | 6.13 m/s | 1,758 kWh | $289 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Benton County averages 4.82 m/s; at 50 m it is 6.86 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.219, typical of ordinary open country. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 16,854 to 26,036 kWh a year, 54% 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 | 5.61 m/s | 16,854 kWh | 36 years |
| 30 m | 6.13 m/s | 20,697 kWh | 29 years |
| 40 m | 6.53 m/s | 23,649 kWh | 26 years |
| 50 m | 6.86 m/s | 26,036 kWh | 23 years |
Counties around Benton County
3 of the 6 closest counties are windier at turbine height; the windiest, Morrison County, averages 6.34 m/s.
- Sherburne County, MN: 6.13 m/s, 20,668 kWh, payback 29 years (20 mi)
- Mille Lacs County, MN: 6.32 m/s, 22,077 kWh, payback 28 years (24 mi)
- Morrison County, MN: 6.34 m/s, 22,225 kWh, payback 27 years (25 mi)
- Stearns County, MN: 6.29 m/s, 21,855 kWh, payback 28 years (31 mi)
- Isanti County, MN: 5.96 m/s, 19,408 kWh, payback 31 years (35 mi)
- Wright County, MN: 6.05 m/s, 20,075 kWh, payback 30 years (36 mi)
Sun versus wind in Benton County
Benton County gets 3.88 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,133 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 2,067. This is one of the rare places where a kilowatt of turbine out-produces a kilowatt of panels, by 1.8 times. 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.