Wind Turbine Payback in LaPorte County, IN
Wind turbine payback in LaPorte 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 LaPorte County, IN averages 6.1 m/s (13.6 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 20,446 kWh a year, worth $3,484 at IN's 17.04¢/kWh. Against an installed cost of about $100,000, that is a payback of 29 years, and the turbine is built to last about 20.
What to do in LaPorte County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in LaPorte County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 7.3 m/s at the hub against 6.1 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,113 kWh a year here against the turbine's 2,045, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 24¢/kWh, 1.4 times what IN pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 7.3 m/s instead of 6.1. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of IN
LaPorte County is the 685th windiest of 3,144 US counties at turbine height; the national middle is 4.79 m/s. The windiest in IN is Lake County at 6.17 m/s, payback 28 years.
Month by month in LaPorte County
January is the strongest month here, at 7.03 m/s and about 2,317 kWh. August is the weakest, 4.62 m/s and 857 kWh, so the best month makes 2.7 times the worst. November to March brings in 52% of the year's output in LaPorte County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 7.03 m/s | 2,317 kWh | $395 |
| February | 6.85 m/s | 1,989 kWh | $339 |
| March | 6.67 m/s | 2,092 kWh | $356 |
| April | 6.90 m/s | 2,163 kWh | $369 |
| May | 5.99 m/s | 1,664 kWh | $284 |
| June | 5.19 m/s | 1,136 kWh | $194 |
| July | 4.62 m/s | 857 kWh | $146 |
| August | 4.62 m/s | 857 kWh | $146 |
| September | 5.35 m/s | 1,229 kWh | $209 |
| October | 6.42 m/s | 1,941 kWh | $331 |
| November | 6.87 m/s | 2,147 kWh | $366 |
| December | 6.83 m/s | 2,191 kWh | $373 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in LaPorte County averages 4.82 m/s; at 50 m it is 6.81 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.215, typical of ordinary open country. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 16,706 to 25,675 kWh a year, 54% 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 | 5.59 m/s | 16,706 kWh | 35 years |
| 30 m | 6.1 m/s | 20,458 kWh | 29 years |
| 40 m | 6.49 m/s | 23,341 kWh | 25 years |
| 50 m | 6.81 m/s | 25,675 kWh | 23 years |
Counties around LaPorte County
2 of the 6 closest counties are windier at turbine height; the windiest, Berrien County, averages 6.87 m/s.
- Berrien County, MI: 6.87 m/s, 26,109 kWh, payback 18 years (17 mi)
- Porter County, IN: 6.1 m/s, 20,446 kWh, payback 29 years (17 mi)
- Starke County, IN: 6.1 m/s, 20,446 kWh, payback 29 years (19 mi)
- St. Joseph County, IN: 5.96 m/s, 19,408 kWh, payback 30 years (24 mi)
- Marshall County, IN: 5.96 m/s, 19,408 kWh, payback 30 years (29 mi)
- Lake County, IN: 6.17 m/s, 20,965 kWh, payback 28 years (33 mi)
Sun versus wind in LaPorte County
LaPorte County gets 3.81 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,113 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 2,045. 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.