Wind Turbine Payback in Charlevoix County, MI
Wind turbine payback in Charlevoix 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 Charlevoix County, MI averages 7.15 m/s (16 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 28,109 kWh a year, worth $6,108 at MI's 21.73¢/kWh. Against an installed cost of about $100,000, that is a payback of 16 years, and the turbine is built to last about 20.
What to do in Charlevoix 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 1,037 kWh a year here against the turbine's 2,811, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power already costs enough here: break-even is 18¢/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
Charlevoix County is the 15th 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 Charlevoix County
December is the strongest month here, at 8.32 m/s and about 3,040 kWh. July is the weakest, 5.62 m/s and 1,437 kWh, so the best month makes 2.1 times the worst. November to March brings in 51% of the year's output in Charlevoix County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 8.29 m/s | 3,026 kWh | $658 |
| February | 8.09 m/s | 2,639 kWh | $573 |
| March | 7.23 m/s | 2,434 kWh | $529 |
| April | 7.29 m/s | 2,393 kWh | $520 |
| May | 6.51 m/s | 1,997 kWh | $434 |
| June | 5.84 m/s | 1,521 kWh | $331 |
| July | 5.62 m/s | 1,437 kWh | $312 |
| August | 5.84 m/s | 1,572 kWh | $342 |
| September | 6.76 m/s | 2,079 kWh | $452 |
| October | 7.84 m/s | 2,784 kWh | $605 |
| November | 8.34 m/s | 2,956 kWh | $642 |
| December | 8.32 m/s | 3,040 kWh | $661 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Charlevoix County averages 6.24 m/s; at 50 m it is 7.62 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.124, typical of very open, smooth ground where height adds little. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 25,614 to 31,346 kWh a year, 22% 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 | 6.8 m/s | 25,614 kWh | 18 years |
| 30 m | 7.15 m/s | 28,125 kWh | 16 years |
| 40 m | 7.41 m/s | 29,934 kWh | 15 years |
| 50 m | 7.62 m/s | 31,346 kWh | 15 years |
Counties around Charlevoix County
1 of the 6 closest counties is windier at turbine height; the windiest, Leelanau County, averages 7.3 m/s.
- Emmet County, MI: 6.4 m/s, 22,669 kWh, payback 20 years (27 mi)
- Mackinac County, MI: 5.26 m/s, 14,327 kWh, payback 32 years (40 mi)
- Leelanau County, MI: 7.3 m/s, 29,160 kWh, payback 16 years (41 mi)
- Schoolcraft County, MI: 5.88 m/s, 18,816 kWh, payback 25 years (42 mi)
- Antrim County, MI: 6.06 m/s, 20,149 kWh, payback 23 years (46 mi)
- Cheboygan County, MI: 5.44 m/s, 15,605 kWh, payback 30 years (52 mi)
Sun versus wind in Charlevoix County
Charlevoix County gets 3.55 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,037 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 2,811. This is one of the rare places where a kilowatt of turbine out-produces a kilowatt of panels, by 2.7 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.