Wind Turbine Payback in Manitowoc County, WI
Wind turbine payback in Manitowoc 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 Manitowoc County, WI averages 7.32 m/s (16.4 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 29,299 kWh a year, worth $5,581 at WI's 19.05¢/kWh. Against an installed cost of about $100,000, that is a payback of 18 years, and the turbine is built to last about 20.
What to do in Manitowoc 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 6.9 m/s pays back in time. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,063 kWh a year here against the turbine's 2,930, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power already costs enough here: break-even is 17¢/kWh and WI pays 19.05¢.
- The wind clears the break-even speed of 6.9 m/s at today's price.
Against the rest of WI
Manitowoc County is the 7th windiest of 3,144 US counties at turbine height; the national middle is 4.79 m/s. It is the windiest county in WI.
Month by month in Manitowoc County
January is the strongest month here, at 8.25 m/s and about 3,007 kWh. August is the weakest, 5.79 m/s and 1,544 kWh, so the best month makes 1.9 times the worst. November to March brings in 49% of the year's output in Manitowoc County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 8.25 m/s | 3,007 kWh | $573 |
| February | 8.14 m/s | 2,663 kWh | $507 |
| March | 7.54 m/s | 2,619 kWh | $499 |
| April | 7.79 m/s | 2,667 kWh | $508 |
| May | 7.11 m/s | 2,361 kWh | $450 |
| June | 6.41 m/s | 1,868 kWh | $356 |
| July | 5.86 m/s | 1,585 kWh | $302 |
| August | 5.79 m/s | 1,544 kWh | $294 |
| September | 6.84 m/s | 2,126 kWh | $405 |
| October | 7.83 m/s | 2,782 kWh | $530 |
| November | 8.15 m/s | 2,858 kWh | $544 |
| December | 8.18 m/s | 2,968 kWh | $565 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Manitowoc County averages 6.28 m/s; at 50 m it is 7.86 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.139, typical of very open, smooth ground where height adds little. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 26,469 to 32,931 kWh a year, 24% 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 | 6.92 m/s | 26,469 kWh | 20 years |
| 30 m | 7.32 m/s | 29,307 kWh | 18 years |
| 40 m | 7.62 m/s | 31,346 kWh | 17 years |
| 50 m | 7.86 m/s | 32,931 kWh | 16 years |
Counties around Manitowoc County
None of the 6 closest counties is windier than Manitowoc County.
- Sheboygan County, WI: 7.26 m/s, 28,881 kWh, payback 18 years (30 mi)
- Brown County, WI: 6.34 m/s, 22,225 kWh, payback 24 years (30 mi)
- Kewaunee County, WI: 7.28 m/s, 29,020 kWh, payback 18 years (32 mi)
- Calumet County, WI: 6.53 m/s, 23,628 kWh, payback 22 years (32 mi)
- Ozaukee County, WI: 6.43 m/s, 22,891 kWh, payback 23 years (47 mi)
- Outagamie County, WI: 6.01 m/s, 19,778 kWh, payback 27 years (47 mi)
Sun versus wind in Manitowoc County
Manitowoc County gets 3.64 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,063 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 2,930. This is one of the rare places where a kilowatt of turbine out-produces a kilowatt of panels, by 2.8 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.