Wind Turbine Payback in Butte County, CA
Wind turbine payback in Butte 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 Butte County, CA averages 4.25 m/s (9.5 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 7,897 kWh a year, worth $2,573 at CA's 32.58¢/kWh. Against an installed cost of about $100,000, that is a payback of 39 years, and the turbine is built to last about 20.
What to do in Butte County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Butte County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 5.4 m/s at the hub against 4.25 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,492 kWh a year here against the turbine's 790, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 63¢/kWh, 1.9 times what CA pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 5.4 m/s instead of 4.25. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of CA
Butte County is the 1,914th 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 Butte County
December is the strongest month here, at 4.79 m/s and about 949 kWh. September is the weakest, 3.87 m/s and 487 kWh, so the best month makes 1.9 times the worst. November to March brings in 50% of the year's output in Butte County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 4.36 m/s | 726 kWh | $237 |
| February | 4.72 m/s | 822 kWh | $268 |
| March | 4.54 m/s | 814 kWh | $265 |
| April | 4.22 m/s | 634 kWh | $207 |
| May | 4.12 m/s | 611 kWh | $199 |
| June | 3.90 m/s | 501 kWh | $163 |
| July | 4.10 m/s | 603 kWh | $196 |
| August | 4.01 m/s | 561 kWh | $183 |
| September | 3.87 m/s | 487 kWh | $159 |
| October | 4.16 m/s | 631 kWh | $206 |
| November | 4.23 m/s | 642 kWh | $209 |
| December | 4.79 m/s | 949 kWh | $309 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Butte County averages 3.19 m/s; at 50 m it is 4.86 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.262, typical of ordinary open country. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 5,720 to 11,603 kWh a year, 103% 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 | 3.82 m/s | 5,720 kWh | 54 years |
| 30 m | 4.25 m/s | 7,904 kWh | 39 years |
| 40 m | 4.58 m/s | 9,848 kWh | 31 years |
| 50 m | 4.86 m/s | 11,603 kWh | 27 years |
Counties around Butte County
None of the 6 closest counties is windier than Butte County.
- Yuba County, CA: 3.74 m/s, 5,342 kWh, payback 58 years (31 mi)
- Glenn County, CA: 3.8 m/s, 5,614 kWh, payback 55 years (43 mi)
- Sutter County, CA: 3.93 m/s, 6,231 kWh, payback 49 years (44 mi)
- Tehama County, CA: 3.89 m/s, 6,037 kWh, payback 51 years (46 mi)
- Plumas County, CA: 3.24 m/s, 3,367 kWh, payback 91 years (47 mi)
- Colusa County, CA: 3.92 m/s, 6,182 kWh, payback 50 years (48 mi)
Sun versus wind in Butte County
Butte County gets 5.11 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,492 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 790. Kilowatt for kilowatt, panels make 1.9 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.