Wind Turbine Payback in Kandiyohi County, MN
Wind turbine payback in Kandiyohi 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 Kandiyohi County, MN averages 6.27 m/s (14 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 21,706 kWh a year, worth $3,569 at MN's 16.44¢/kWh. Against an installed cost of about $100,000, that is a payback of 28 years, and the turbine is built to last about 20.
What to do in Kandiyohi County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Kandiyohi County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 7.5 m/s at the hub against 6.27 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,133 kWh a year here against the turbine's 2,171, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 23¢/kWh, 1.4 times what MN pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 7.5 m/s instead of 6.27. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of MN
Kandiyohi County is the 510th windiest of 3,144 US counties at turbine height; the national middle is 4.79 m/s. The windiest in MN is Lincoln County at 6.68 m/s, payback 25 years.
Month by month in Kandiyohi County
April is the strongest month here, at 6.99 m/s and about 2,215 kWh. July is the weakest, 5.24 m/s and 1,204 kWh, so the best month makes 1.8 times the worst. November to March brings in 44% of the year's output in Kandiyohi County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 6.45 m/s | 1,956 kWh | $322 |
| February | 6.53 m/s | 1,812 kWh | $298 |
| March | 6.63 m/s | 2,068 kWh | $340 |
| April | 6.99 m/s | 2,215 kWh | $364 |
| May | 6.55 m/s | 2,018 kWh | $332 |
| June | 5.89 m/s | 1,554 kWh | $255 |
| July | 5.24 m/s | 1,204 kWh | $198 |
| August | 5.26 m/s | 1,214 kWh | $200 |
| September | 6.31 m/s | 1,806 kWh | $297 |
| October | 6.66 m/s | 2,090 kWh | $344 |
| November | 6.51 m/s | 1,931 kWh | $317 |
| December | 6.30 m/s | 1,860 kWh | $306 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Kandiyohi County averages 4.96 m/s; at 50 m it is 6.99 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.213, typical of ordinary open country. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 17,863 to 26,971 kWh a year, 51% 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 | 5.75 m/s | 17,863 kWh | 34 years |
| 30 m | 6.27 m/s | 21,702 kWh | 28 years |
| 40 m | 6.67 m/s | 24,622 kWh | 25 years |
| 50 m | 6.99 m/s | 26,971 kWh | 23 years |
Counties around Kandiyohi County
4 of the 6 closest counties are windier at turbine height; the windiest, Swift County, averages 6.39 m/s.
- Meeker County, MN: 6.25 m/s, 21,558 kWh, payback 28 years (23 mi)
- Chippewa County, MN: 6.25 m/s, 21,558 kWh, payback 28 years (29 mi)
- Renville County, MN: 6.34 m/s, 22,225 kWh, payback 27 years (30 mi)
- Stearns County, MN: 6.29 m/s, 21,855 kWh, payback 28 years (34 mi)
- Swift County, MN: 6.39 m/s, 22,595 kWh, payback 27 years (34 mi)
- Pope County, MN: 6.39 m/s, 22,595 kWh, payback 27 years (37 mi)
Sun versus wind in Kandiyohi County
Kandiyohi County gets 3.88 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,133 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 2,171. This is one of the rare places where a kilowatt of turbine out-produces a kilowatt of panels, by 1.9 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.