Wind Turbine Payback in Presque Isle County, MI
Wind turbine payback in Presque Isle 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 Presque Isle County, MI averages 7.25 m/s (16.2 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 28,811 kWh a year, worth $6,261 at MI's 21.73¢/kWh. Against an installed cost of about $100,000, that is a payback of 16 years, and the turbine is built to last about 20.
What to do in Presque Isle 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 6.4 m/s pays back in time. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,042 kWh a year here against the turbine's 2,881, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power already costs enough here: break-even is 17¢/kWh and MI pays 21.73¢.
- The wind clears the break-even speed of 6.4 m/s at today's price.
Against the rest of MI
Presque Isle County is the 13th windiest of 3,144 US counties at turbine height; the national middle is 4.79 m/s. The windiest in MI is Keweenaw County at 7.4 m/s, payback 15 years.
Month by month in Presque Isle County
December is the strongest month here, at 8.48 m/s and about 3,122 kWh. July is the weakest, 5.85 m/s and 1,580 kWh, so the best month makes 2.0 times the worst. November to March brings in 50% of the year's output in Presque Isle County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 8.20 m/s | 2,977 kWh | $647 |
| February | 8.20 m/s | 2,689 kWh | $584 |
| March | 7.44 m/s | 2,556 kWh | $555 |
| April | 7.54 m/s | 2,531 kWh | $550 |
| May | 6.69 m/s | 2,109 kWh | $458 |
| June | 5.97 m/s | 1,603 kWh | $348 |
| July | 5.85 m/s | 1,580 kWh | $343 |
| August | 5.94 m/s | 1,639 kWh | $356 |
| September | 6.58 m/s | 1,974 kWh | $429 |
| October | 7.85 m/s | 2,790 kWh | $606 |
| November | 8.33 m/s | 2,947 kWh | $640 |
| December | 8.48 m/s | 3,122 kWh | $678 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Presque Isle County averages 6.31 m/s; at 50 m it is 7.73 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.126, typical of very open, smooth ground where height adds little. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 26,232 to 32,079 kWh a year, 22% 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 | 6.89 m/s | 26,232 kWh | 18 years |
| 30 m | 7.25 m/s | 28,798 kWh | 16 years |
| 40 m | 7.52 m/s | 30,642 kWh | 15 years |
| 50 m | 7.73 m/s | 32,079 kWh | 14 years |
Counties around Presque Isle County
None of the 6 closest counties is windier than Presque Isle County.
- Alpena County, MI: 6.98 m/s, 26,900 kWh, payback 17 years (25 mi)
- Montmorency County, MI: 4.66 m/s, 10,320 kWh, payback 45 years (37 mi)
- Alcona County, MI: 6.68 m/s, 24,728 kWh, payback 19 years (42 mi)
- Oscoda County, MI: 4.1 m/s, 7,090 kWh, payback 65 years (52 mi)
- Cheboygan County, MI: 5.44 m/s, 15,605 kWh, payback 30 years (54 mi)
- Otsego County, MI: 4.66 m/s, 10,320 kWh, payback 45 years (58 mi)
Sun versus wind in Presque Isle County
Presque Isle County gets 3.57 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,042 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 2,881. 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.