Wind Turbine Payback in Benton County, OR
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, OR averages 3.42 m/s (7.7 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 4,018 kWh a year, worth $621 at OR's 15.46¢/kWh. Against an installed cost of about $100,000, that is a payback of over 100 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, 7.8 m/s at the hub against 3.42 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,133 kWh a year here against the turbine's 402, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 124¢/kWh, 8.0 times what OR pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 7.8 m/s instead of 3.42. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of OR
Benton County is the 2,596th windiest of 3,144 US counties at turbine height; the national middle is 4.79 m/s. The windiest in OR is Gilliam County at 5.48 m/s, payback 41 years.
Month by month in Benton County
December is the strongest month here, at 3.93 m/s and about 530 kWh. August is the weakest, 3.05 m/s and 233 kWh, so the best month makes 2.3 times the worst. November to March brings in 55% of the year's output in Benton County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 3.83 m/s | 488 kWh | $75 |
| February | 3.51 m/s | 335 kWh | $52 |
| March | 3.66 m/s | 423 kWh | $65 |
| April | 3.36 m/s | 311 kWh | $48 |
| May | 3.08 m/s | 242 kWh | $37 |
| June | 3.12 m/s | 245 kWh | $38 |
| July | 3.14 m/s | 258 kWh | $40 |
| August | 3.05 m/s | 233 kWh | $36 |
| September | 3.12 m/s | 243 kWh | $38 |
| October | 3.39 m/s | 332 kWh | $51 |
| November | 3.80 m/s | 462 kWh | $71 |
| December | 3.93 m/s | 530 kWh | $82 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Benton County averages 2.46 m/s; at 50 m it is 3.98 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.299, typical of ordinary open country. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 2,679 to 6,477 kWh a year, 142% 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 | 3.03 m/s | 2,679 kWh | over 100 years |
| 30 m | 3.42 m/s | 4,004 kWh | over 100 years |
| 40 m | 3.72 m/s | 5,267 kWh | over 100 years |
| 50 m | 3.98 m/s | 6,477 kWh | 100 years |
Counties around Benton County
3 of the 6 closest counties are windier at turbine height; the windiest, Lincoln County, averages 3.57 m/s.
- Lincoln County, OR: 3.57 m/s, 4,612 kWh, payback over 100 years (26 mi)
- Polk County, OR: 3.46 m/s, 4,172 kWh, payback over 100 years (28 mi)
- Linn County, OR: 2.9 m/s, 2,315 kWh, payback over 100 years (44 mi)
- Lane County, OR: 2.72 m/s, 1,846 kWh, payback over 100 years (47 mi)
- Marion County, OR: 3.23 m/s, 3,333 kWh, payback over 100 years (50 mi)
- Yamhill County, OR: 3.46 m/s, 4,172 kWh, payback over 100 years (52 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 402. Kilowatt for kilowatt, panels make 2.8 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.