Wind Turbine Payback in Ozaukee County, WI
Wind turbine payback in Ozaukee 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 Ozaukee County, WI averages 6.43 m/s (14.4 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 22,891 kWh a year, worth $4,361 at WI's 19.05¢/kWh. Against an installed cost of about $100,000, that is a payback of 23 years, and the turbine is built to last about 20.
What to do in Ozaukee County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Ozaukee County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 6.9 m/s at the hub against 6.43 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,072 kWh a year here against the turbine's 2,289, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 22¢/kWh, 1.1 times what WI pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 6.9 m/s instead of 6.43. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of WI
Ozaukee County is the 290th 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 Ozaukee County
January is the strongest month here, at 7.23 m/s and about 2,433 kWh. August is the weakest, 5.12 m/s and 1,133 kWh, so the best month makes 2.1 times the worst. November to March brings in 50% of the year's output in Ozaukee County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 7.23 m/s | 2,433 kWh | $463 |
| February | 7.25 m/s | 2,212 kWh | $421 |
| March | 6.83 m/s | 2,193 kWh | $418 |
| April | 7.05 m/s | 2,250 kWh | $429 |
| May | 6.28 m/s | 1,850 kWh | $352 |
| June | 5.57 m/s | 1,359 kWh | $259 |
| July | 5.17 m/s | 1,165 kWh | $222 |
| August | 5.12 m/s | 1,133 kWh | $216 |
| September | 5.98 m/s | 1,609 kWh | $307 |
| October | 6.77 m/s | 2,154 kWh | $410 |
| November | 6.98 m/s | 2,213 kWh | $422 |
| December | 6.97 m/s | 2,281 kWh | $435 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Ozaukee County averages 5.14 m/s; at 50 m it is 7.14 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.204, typical of ordinary open country. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 19,132 to 28,038 kWh a year, 47% 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 | 5.92 m/s | 19,132 kWh | 27 years |
| 30 m | 6.43 m/s | 22,916 kWh | 23 years |
| 40 m | 6.82 m/s | 25,763 kWh | 20 years |
| 50 m | 7.14 m/s | 28,038 kWh | 19 years |
Counties around Ozaukee County
1 of the 6 closest counties is windier at turbine height; the windiest, Sheboygan County, averages 7.26 m/s.
- Sheboygan County, WI: 7.26 m/s, 28,881 kWh, payback 18 years (17 mi)
- Washington County, WI: 6.43 m/s, 22,891 kWh, payback 23 years (21 mi)
- Fond du Lac County, WI: 6.12 m/s, 20,594 kWh, payback 26 years (37 mi)
- Waukesha County, WI: 6.28 m/s, 21,781 kWh, payback 24 years (41 mi)
- Milwaukee County, WI: 6.28 m/s, 21,781 kWh, payback 24 years (41 mi)
- Dodge County, WI: 6.09 m/s, 20,371 kWh, payback 26 years (43 mi)
Sun versus wind in Ozaukee County
Ozaukee County gets 3.67 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,072 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 2,289. 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.