Wind Turbine Payback in Humboldt County, CA
Wind turbine payback in Humboldt 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 Humboldt County, CA averages 2.96 m/s (6.6 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 2,484 kWh a year, worth $809 at CA's 32.58¢/kWh. Against an installed cost of about $100,000, that is a payback of over 100 years, and the turbine is built to last about 20.
What to do in Humboldt County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Humboldt County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 5.4 m/s at the hub against 2.96 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,422 kWh a year here against the turbine's 248, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 201¢/kWh, 6.2 times what CA pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 5.4 m/s instead of 2.96. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of CA
Humboldt County is the 3,076th 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 Humboldt County
December is the strongest month here, at 3.41 m/s and about 339 kWh. August is the weakest, 2.55 m/s and 124 kWh, so the best month makes 2.7 times the worst. November to March brings in 54% of the year's output in Humboldt County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 3.25 m/s | 290 kWh | $94 |
| February | 3.20 m/s | 248 kWh | $81 |
| March | 3.08 m/s | 242 kWh | $79 |
| April | 2.88 m/s | 186 kWh | $61 |
| May | 2.74 m/s | 162 kWh | $53 |
| June | 2.96 m/s | 205 kWh | $67 |
| July | 2.56 m/s | 125 kWh | $41 |
| August | 2.55 m/s | 124 kWh | $40 |
| September | 2.76 m/s | 160 kWh | $52 |
| October | 2.98 m/s | 216 kWh | $70 |
| November | 3.11 m/s | 241 kWh | $79 |
| December | 3.41 m/s | 339 kWh | $110 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Humboldt County averages 2.07 m/s; at 50 m it is 3.49 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.325, typical of rough, sheltered ground: trees or buildings slow the low wind a lot. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 1,546 to 4,289 kWh a year, 177% 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 | 2.59 m/s | 1,546 kWh | over 100 years |
| 30 m | 2.96 m/s | 2,473 kWh | over 100 years |
| 40 m | 3.25 m/s | 3,387 kWh | 91 years |
| 50 m | 3.49 m/s | 4,289 kWh | 72 years |
Counties around Humboldt County
4 of the 6 closest counties are windier at turbine height; the windiest, Tehama County, averages 3.89 m/s.
- Trinity County, CA: 2.43 m/s, 1,211 kWh, payback over 100 years (43 mi)
- Del Norte County, CA: 2.88 m/s, 2,259 kWh, payback over 100 years (72 mi)
- Mendocino County, CA: 3.87 m/s, 5,942 kWh, payback 52 years (92 mi)
- Siskiyou County, CA: 2.97 m/s, 2,513 kWh, payback over 100 years (95 mi)
- Tehama County, CA: 3.89 m/s, 6,037 kWh, payback 51 years (98 mi)
- Shasta County, CA: 3.27 m/s, 3,471 kWh, payback 88 years (99 mi)
Sun versus wind in Humboldt County
Humboldt County gets 4.87 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,422 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 248. Kilowatt for kilowatt, panels make 5.7 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.