Wind Turbine Payback in San Benito County, CA
Wind turbine payback in San Benito 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 San Benito County, CA averages 3.61 m/s (8.1 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 4,778 kWh a year, worth $1,557 at CA's 32.58¢/kWh. Against an installed cost of about $100,000, that is a payback of 64 years, and the turbine is built to last about 20.
What to do in San Benito County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in San Benito County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 5.4 m/s at the hub against 3.61 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,539 kWh a year here against the turbine's 478, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 105¢/kWh, 3.2 times what CA pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 5.4 m/s instead of 3.61. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of CA
San Benito County is the 2,382nd windiest of 3,144 US counties at turbine height; the national middle is 4.79 m/s. The windiest in CA is San Francisco County at 6.53 m/s, payback 13 years.
Month by month in San Benito County
May is the strongest month here, at 4.12 m/s and about 612 kWh. September is the weakest, 3.22 m/s and 270 kWh, so the best month makes 2.3 times the worst. November to March brings in 39% of the year's output in San Benito County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 3.41 m/s | 338 kWh | $110 |
| February | 3.77 m/s | 421 kWh | $137 |
| March | 3.77 m/s | 466 kWh | $152 |
| April | 4.11 m/s | 589 kWh | $192 |
| May | 4.12 m/s | 612 kWh | $199 |
| June | 4.06 m/s | 565 kWh | $184 |
| July | 3.47 m/s | 356 kWh | $116 |
| August | 3.27 m/s | 295 kWh | $96 |
| September | 3.22 m/s | 270 kWh | $88 |
| October | 3.27 m/s | 295 kWh | $96 |
| November | 3.32 m/s | 299 kWh | $97 |
| December | 3.63 m/s | 414 kWh | $135 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in San Benito County averages 3.05 m/s; at 50 m it is 3.91 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.154, typical of very open, smooth ground where height adds little. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 3,925 to 6,134 kWh a year, 56% 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 | 3.4 m/s | 3,925 kWh | 78 years |
| 30 m | 3.61 m/s | 4,796 kWh | 64 years |
| 40 m | 3.78 m/s | 5,513 kWh | 56 years |
| 50 m | 3.91 m/s | 6,134 kWh | 50 years |
Counties around San Benito County
4 of the 6 closest counties are windier at turbine height; the windiest, Merced County, averages 4.5 m/s.
- Monterey County, CA: 4.07 m/s, 6,934 kWh, payback 44 years (29 mi)
- Merced County, CA: 4.5 m/s, 9,339 kWh, payback 33 years (45 mi)
- Santa Clara County, CA: 3.46 m/s, 4,172 kWh, payback 74 years (54 mi)
- Santa Cruz County, CA: 3.46 m/s, 4,172 kWh, payback 74 years (58 mi)
- Stanislaus County, CA: 4.35 m/s, 8,460 kWh, payback 36 years (66 mi)
- Kings County, CA: 4.07 m/s, 6,934 kWh, payback 44 years (80 mi)
Sun versus wind in San Benito County
San Benito County gets 5.27 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,539 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 478. Kilowatt for kilowatt, panels make 3.2 times as much here as the turbine. 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.