Wind Turbine Payback in Lincoln County, MN
Wind turbine payback in Lincoln 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 Lincoln County, MN averages 6.68 m/s (14.9 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 24,728 kWh a year, worth $4,065 at MN's 16.44¢/kWh. Against an installed cost of about $100,000, that is a payback of 25 years, and the turbine is built to last about 20.
What to do in Lincoln County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Lincoln County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 7.5 m/s at the hub against 6.68 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,177 kWh a year here against the turbine's 2,473, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 20¢/kWh, 1.2 times what MN pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 7.5 m/s instead of 6.68. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of MN
Lincoln County is the 70th windiest of 3,144 US counties at turbine height; the national middle is 4.79 m/s. It is the windiest county in MN.
Month by month in Lincoln County
April is the strongest month here, at 7.29 m/s and about 2,392 kWh. August is the weakest, 5.58 m/s and 1,412 kWh, so the best month makes 1.7 times the worst. November to March brings in 45% of the year's output in Lincoln County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 6.97 m/s | 2,277 kWh | $374 |
| February | 6.95 m/s | 2,046 kWh | $336 |
| March | 6.98 m/s | 2,282 kWh | $375 |
| April | 7.29 m/s | 2,392 kWh | $393 |
| May | 6.89 m/s | 2,233 kWh | $367 |
| June | 6.20 m/s | 1,743 kWh | $287 |
| July | 5.58 m/s | 1,412 kWh | $232 |
| August | 5.58 m/s | 1,412 kWh | $232 |
| September | 6.71 m/s | 2,053 kWh | $338 |
| October | 7.09 m/s | 2,353 kWh | $387 |
| November | 7.07 m/s | 2,267 kWh | $373 |
| December | 6.83 m/s | 2,194 kWh | $361 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Lincoln County averages 5.33 m/s; at 50 m it is 7.42 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.206, typical of ordinary open country. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 20,770 to 29,989 kWh a year, 44% 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 | 6.14 m/s | 20,770 kWh | 29 years |
| 30 m | 6.68 m/s | 24,720 kWh | 25 years |
| 40 m | 7.09 m/s | 27,660 kWh | 22 years |
| 50 m | 7.42 m/s | 29,989 kWh | 20 years |
Counties around Lincoln County
2 of the 6 closest counties are windier at turbine height; the windiest, Deuel County, averages 6.71 m/s.
- Lyon County, MN: 6.5 m/s, 23,407 kWh, payback 26 years (21 mi)
- Brookings County, SD: 6.69 m/s, 24,801 kWh, payback 28 years (26 mi)
- Pipestone County, MN: 6.65 m/s, 24,509 kWh, payback 25 years (27 mi)
- Yellow Medicine County, MN: 6.5 m/s, 23,407 kWh, payback 26 years (29 mi)
- Deuel County, SD: 6.71 m/s, 24,947 kWh, payback 28 years (32 mi)
- Moody County, SD: 6.61 m/s, 24,216 kWh, payback 28 years (34 mi)
Sun versus wind in Lincoln County
Lincoln County gets 4.03 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,177 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 2,473. This is one of the rare places where a kilowatt of turbine out-produces a kilowatt of panels, by 2.1 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.