Wind Turbine Payback in Keweenaw County, MI
Wind turbine payback in Keweenaw 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 Keweenaw County, MI averages 7.4 m/s (16.6 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 29,851 kWh a year, worth $6,487 at MI's 21.73¢/kWh. Against an installed cost of about $100,000, that is a payback of 15 years, and the turbine is built to last about 20.
What to do in Keweenaw 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 1,002 kWh a year here against the turbine's 2,985, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power already costs enough here: break-even is 17¢/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
Keweenaw County is the 6th windiest of 3,144 US counties at turbine height; the national middle is 4.79 m/s. It is the windiest county in MI.
Month by month in Keweenaw County
January is the strongest month here, at 8.48 m/s and about 3,121 kWh. June is the weakest, 6.20 m/s and 1,742 kWh, so the best month makes 1.8 times the worst. November to March brings in 49% of the year's output in Keweenaw County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 8.48 m/s | 3,121 kWh | $678 |
| February | 8.35 m/s | 2,759 kWh | $600 |
| March | 7.47 m/s | 2,575 kWh | $560 |
| April | 7.33 m/s | 2,413 kWh | $524 |
| May | 6.77 m/s | 2,155 kWh | $468 |
| June | 6.20 m/s | 1,742 kWh | $379 |
| July | 6.15 m/s | 1,770 kWh | $385 |
| August | 6.36 m/s | 1,900 kWh | $413 |
| September | 7.19 m/s | 2,333 kWh | $507 |
| October | 7.90 m/s | 2,818 kWh | $612 |
| November | 8.28 m/s | 2,924 kWh | $635 |
| December | 8.38 m/s | 3,074 kWh | $668 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Keweenaw County averages 6.37 m/s; at 50 m it is 7.94 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.137, typical of very open, smooth ground where height adds little. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 27,067 to 33,448 kWh a year, 24% more, before counting the extra cost of the taller tower.
| Hub height | Average wind | Output | Payback |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20 m | 7 m/s | 27,067 kWh | 17 years |
| 30 m | 7.4 m/s | 29,874 kWh | 15 years |
| 40 m | 7.7 m/s | 31,886 kWh | 14 years |
| 50 m | 7.94 m/s | 33,448 kWh | 14 years |
Counties around Keweenaw County
None of the 6 closest counties is windier than Keweenaw County.
- Houghton County, MI: 5.41 m/s, 15,390 kWh, payback 30 years (29 mi)
- Baraga County, MI: 4.27 m/s, 8,008 kWh, payback 58 years (46 mi)
- Ontonagon County, MI: 5.67 m/s, 17,272 kWh, payback 27 years (57 mi)
- Marquette County, MI: 4.81 m/s, 11,276 kWh, payback 41 years (61 mi)
- Iron County, MI: 4.06 m/s, 6,883 kWh, payback 67 years (83 mi)
- Gogebic County, MI: 4.5 m/s, 9,339 kWh, payback 49 years (91 mi)
Sun versus wind in Keweenaw County
Keweenaw County gets 3.43 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,002 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 2,985. This is one of the rare places where a kilowatt of turbine out-produces a kilowatt of panels, by 3.0 times. Panel output assumes an 80% system performance ratio.
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.