Wind Turbine Payback in Berrien County, MI
Wind turbine payback in Berrien 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 Berrien County, MI averages 6.87 m/s (15.4 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 26,109 kWh a year, worth $5,673 at MI's 21.73¢/kWh. Against an installed cost of about $100,000, that is a payback of 18 years, and the turbine is built to last about 20.
What to do in Berrien 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 1,113 kWh a year here against the turbine's 2,611, 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
Berrien County is the 24th 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 Berrien County
January is the strongest month here, at 8.14 m/s and about 2,950 kWh. August is the weakest, 4.98 m/s and 1,055 kWh, so the best month makes 2.8 times the worst. November to March brings in 52% of the year's output in Berrien County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 8.14 m/s | 2,950 kWh | $641 |
| February | 7.78 m/s | 2,486 kWh | $540 |
| March | 7.35 m/s | 2,508 kWh | $545 |
| April | 7.52 m/s | 2,521 kWh | $548 |
| May | 6.63 m/s | 2,068 kWh | $449 |
| June | 5.71 m/s | 1,442 kWh | $313 |
| July | 5.04 m/s | 1,087 kWh | $236 |
| August | 4.98 m/s | 1,055 kWh | $229 |
| September | 6.02 m/s | 1,634 kWh | $355 |
| October | 7.40 m/s | 2,535 kWh | $551 |
| November | 7.98 m/s | 2,768 kWh | $601 |
| December | 7.96 m/s | 2,850 kWh | $619 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Berrien County averages 5.87 m/s; at 50 m it is 7.39 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.143, typical of very open, smooth ground where height adds little. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 23,278 to 29,783 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 | 6.48 m/s | 23,278 kWh | 20 years |
| 30 m | 6.87 m/s | 26,105 kWh | 18 years |
| 40 m | 7.16 m/s | 28,164 kWh | 16 years |
| 50 m | 7.39 m/s | 29,783 kWh | 16 years |
Counties around Berrien County
None of the 6 closest counties is windier than Berrien County.
- LaPorte County, IN: 6.1 m/s, 20,446 kWh, payback 29 years (17 mi)
- Porter County, IN: 6.1 m/s, 20,446 kWh, payback 29 years (26 mi)
- St. Joseph County, IN: 5.96 m/s, 19,408 kWh, payback 30 years (26 mi)
- Starke County, IN: 6.1 m/s, 20,446 kWh, payback 29 years (35 mi)
- Cass County, MI: 6.35 m/s, 22,299 kWh, payback 21 years (39 mi)
- Lake County, IN: 6.17 m/s, 20,965 kWh, payback 28 years (39 mi)
Sun versus wind in Berrien County
Berrien County gets 3.81 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,113 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 2,611. This is one of the rare places where a kilowatt of turbine out-produces a kilowatt of panels, by 2.3 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.