Wind Turbine Payback in Dodge County, WI
Wind turbine payback in Dodge 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 Dodge County, WI averages 6.09 m/s (13.6 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 20,371 kWh a year, worth $3,881 at WI's 19.05¢/kWh. Against an installed cost of about $100,000, that is a payback of 26 years, and the turbine is built to last about 20.
What to do in Dodge County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Dodge County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 6.9 m/s at the hub against 6.09 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,121 kWh a year here against the turbine's 2,037, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 25¢/kWh, 1.3 times what WI pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 6.9 m/s instead of 6.09. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of WI
Dodge County is the 701st windiest of 3,144 US counties at turbine height; the national middle is 4.79 m/s. The windiest in WI is Manitowoc County at 7.32 m/s, payback 18 years.
Month by month in Dodge County
April is the strongest month here, at 6.90 m/s and about 2,161 kWh. August is the weakest, 4.89 m/s and 1,005 kWh, so the best month makes 2.2 times the worst. November to March brings in 48% of the year's output in Dodge County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 6.64 m/s | 2,073 kWh | $395 |
| February | 6.77 m/s | 1,948 kWh | $371 |
| March | 6.54 m/s | 2,012 kWh | $383 |
| April | 6.90 m/s | 2,161 kWh | $412 |
| May | 6.10 m/s | 1,737 kWh | $331 |
| June | 5.40 m/s | 1,262 kWh | $240 |
| July | 4.96 m/s | 1,040 kWh | $198 |
| August | 4.89 m/s | 1,005 kWh | $191 |
| September | 5.72 m/s | 1,448 kWh | $276 |
| October | 6.40 m/s | 1,928 kWh | $367 |
| November | 6.49 m/s | 1,920 kWh | $366 |
| December | 6.40 m/s | 1,923 kWh | $366 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Dodge County averages 4.78 m/s; at 50 m it is 6.82 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.221, typical of ordinary open country. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 16,542 to 25,747 kWh a year, 56% 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 | 5.57 m/s | 16,542 kWh | 32 years |
| 30 m | 6.09 m/s | 20,386 kWh | 26 years |
| 40 m | 6.49 m/s | 23,347 kWh | 23 years |
| 50 m | 6.82 m/s | 25,747 kWh | 20 years |
Counties around Dodge County
4 of the 6 closest counties are windier at turbine height; the windiest, Washington County, averages 6.43 m/s.
- Washington County, WI: 6.43 m/s, 22,891 kWh, payback 23 years (24 mi)
- Fond du Lac County, WI: 6.12 m/s, 20,594 kWh, payback 26 years (25 mi)
- Green Lake County, WI: 6.12 m/s, 20,594 kWh, payback 26 years (28 mi)
- Jefferson County, WI: 6.09 m/s, 20,371 kWh, payback 26 years (29 mi)
- Columbia County, WI: 6.06 m/s, 20,149 kWh, payback 26 years (32 mi)
- Waukesha County, WI: 6.28 m/s, 21,781 kWh, payback 24 years (35 mi)
Sun versus wind in Dodge County
Dodge County gets 3.84 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,121 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 2,037. This is one of the rare places where a kilowatt of turbine out-produces a kilowatt of panels, by 1.8 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.