Wind Turbine Payback in Oconto County, WI
Wind turbine payback in Oconto 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 Oconto County, WI averages 5.93 m/s (13.3 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 19,186 kWh a year, worth $3,655 at WI's 19.05¢/kWh. Against an installed cost of about $100,000, that is a payback of 27 years, and the turbine is built to last about 20.
What to do in Oconto County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Oconto County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 6.9 m/s at the hub against 5.93 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,113 kWh a year here against the turbine's 1,919, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 26¢/kWh, 1.4 times what WI pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 6.9 m/s instead of 5.93. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of WI
Oconto County is the 950th windiest of 3,144 US counties at turbine height; the national middle is 4.79 m/s. The windiest in WI is Manitowoc County at 7.32 m/s, payback 18 years.
Month by month in Oconto County
January is the strongest month here, at 6.46 m/s and about 1,962 kWh. July is the weakest, 5.01 m/s and 1,071 kWh, so the best month makes 1.8 times the worst. November to March brings in 48% of the year's output in Oconto County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 6.46 m/s | 1,962 kWh | $374 |
| February | 6.60 m/s | 1,853 kWh | $353 |
| March | 6.23 m/s | 1,816 kWh | $346 |
| April | 6.40 m/s | 1,861 kWh | $355 |
| May | 5.73 m/s | 1,507 kWh | $287 |
| June | 5.21 m/s | 1,147 kWh | $219 |
| July | 5.01 m/s | 1,071 kWh | $204 |
| August | 5.06 m/s | 1,097 kWh | $209 |
| September | 5.70 m/s | 1,437 kWh | $274 |
| October | 6.30 m/s | 1,861 kWh | $355 |
| November | 6.25 m/s | 1,774 kWh | $338 |
| December | 6.29 m/s | 1,855 kWh | $353 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Oconto County averages 4.65 m/s; at 50 m it is 6.64 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.221, typical of ordinary open country. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 15,482 to 24,436 kWh a year, 58% 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 | 5.42 m/s | 15,482 kWh | 34 years |
| 30 m | 5.93 m/s | 19,194 kWh | 27 years |
| 40 m | 6.32 m/s | 22,081 kWh | 24 years |
| 50 m | 6.64 m/s | 24,436 kWh | 22 years |
Counties around Oconto County
4 of the 6 closest counties are windier at turbine height; the windiest, Brown County, averages 6.34 m/s.
- Menominee County, WI: 5.94 m/s, 19,260 kWh, payback 27 years (23 mi)
- Marinette County, WI: 4.71 m/s, 10,635 kWh, payback 49 years (26 mi)
- Shawano County, WI: 5.94 m/s, 19,260 kWh, payback 27 years (30 mi)
- Brown County, WI: 6.34 m/s, 22,225 kWh, payback 24 years (38 mi)
- Outagamie County, WI: 6.01 m/s, 19,778 kWh, payback 27 years (42 mi)
- Langlade County, WI: 5.8 m/s, 18,226 kWh, payback 29 years (46 mi)
Sun versus wind in Oconto County
Oconto 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 1,919. This is one of the rare places where a kilowatt of turbine out-produces a kilowatt of panels, by 1.7 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.