Wind Turbine Payback in Benzie County, MI
Wind turbine payback in Benzie County
Only just. The money comes back late in the turbine's life.
At 30 m, the height a home turbine tower usually reaches, the wind in Benzie County, MI averages 6.94 m/s (15.5 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 26,613 kWh a year, worth $5,783 at MI's 21.73¢/kWh. Against an installed cost of about $100,000, that is a payback of 17 years, and the turbine is built to last about 20.
What to do in Benzie County
It is close enough that your own site decides it. If you have open land with no trees or buildings upwind, ask an installer to log the wind at 30 m or higher; anything above 6.4 m/s pays back in time. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,051 kWh a year here against the turbine's 2,661, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power already costs enough here: break-even is 19¢/kWh and MI pays 21.73¢.
- The wind clears the break-even speed of 6.4 m/s at today's price.
Against the rest of MI
Benzie County is the 22nd windiest of 3,144 US counties at turbine height; the national middle is 4.79 m/s. The windiest in MI is Keweenaw County at 7.4 m/s, payback 15 years.
Month by month in Benzie County
January is the strongest month here, at 7.94 m/s and about 2,843 kWh. July is the weakest, 5.51 m/s and 1,370 kWh, so the best month makes 2.1 times the worst. November to March brings in 50% of the year's output in Benzie County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 7.94 m/s | 2,843 kWh | $618 |
| February | 7.84 m/s | 2,518 kWh | $547 |
| March | 7.21 m/s | 2,424 kWh | $527 |
| April | 7.29 m/s | 2,389 kWh | $519 |
| May | 6.56 m/s | 2,027 kWh | $440 |
| June | 5.88 m/s | 1,544 kWh | $336 |
| July | 5.51 m/s | 1,370 kWh | $298 |
| August | 5.57 m/s | 1,404 kWh | $305 |
| September | 6.46 m/s | 1,900 kWh | $413 |
| October | 7.42 m/s | 2,545 kWh | $553 |
| November | 7.85 m/s | 2,702 kWh | $587 |
| December | 7.89 m/s | 2,813 kWh | $611 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Benzie County averages 5.91 m/s; at 50 m it is 7.48 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.146, typical of very open, smooth ground where height adds little. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 23,726 to 30,400 kWh a year, 28% 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 | 6.54 m/s | 23,726 kWh | 19 years |
| 30 m | 6.94 m/s | 26,630 kWh | 17 years |
| 40 m | 7.24 m/s | 28,743 kWh | 16 years |
| 50 m | 7.48 m/s | 30,400 kWh | 15 years |
Counties around Benzie County
1 of the 6 closest counties is windier at turbine height; the windiest, Leelanau County, averages 7.3 m/s.
- Manistee County, MI: 5.77 m/s, 18,006 kWh, payback 26 years (27 mi)
- Grand Traverse County, MI: 6.23 m/s, 21,410 kWh, payback 22 years (34 mi)
- Leelanau County, MI: 7.3 m/s, 29,160 kWh, payback 16 years (36 mi)
- Wexford County, MI: 6.23 m/s, 21,410 kWh, payback 22 years (39 mi)
- Mason County, MI: 5.77 m/s, 18,006 kWh, payback 26 years (48 mi)
- Lake County, MI: 5.54 m/s, 16,326 kWh, payback 28 years (49 mi)
Sun versus wind in Benzie County
Benzie County gets 3.6 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,051 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 2,661. This is one of the rare places where a kilowatt of turbine out-produces a kilowatt of panels, by 2.5 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.