Wind Turbine Payback in Sutter County, CA
Wind turbine payback in Sutter 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 Sutter County, CA averages 3.93 m/s (8.8 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 6,231 kWh a year, worth $2,030 at CA's 32.58¢/kWh. Against an installed cost of about $100,000, that is a payback of 49 years, and the turbine is built to last about 20.
What to do in Sutter County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Sutter County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 5.4 m/s at the hub against 3.93 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,492 kWh a year here against the turbine's 623, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 80¢/kWh, 2.5 times what CA pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 5.4 m/s instead of 3.93. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of CA
Sutter County is the 2,112th 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 Sutter County
December is the strongest month here, at 4.52 m/s and about 802 kWh. September is the weakest, 3.36 m/s and 312 kWh, so the best month makes 2.6 times the worst. November to March brings in 51% of the year's output in Sutter County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 4.02 m/s | 568 kWh | $185 |
| February | 4.49 m/s | 713 kWh | $232 |
| March | 4.23 m/s | 660 kWh | $215 |
| April | 4.11 m/s | 588 kWh | $192 |
| May | 3.93 m/s | 531 kWh | $173 |
| June | 3.72 m/s | 433 kWh | $141 |
| July | 3.64 m/s | 418 kWh | $136 |
| August | 3.55 m/s | 386 kWh | $126 |
| September | 3.36 m/s | 312 kWh | $102 |
| October | 3.81 m/s | 481 kWh | $157 |
| November | 3.89 m/s | 496 kWh | $162 |
| December | 4.52 m/s | 802 kWh | $261 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Sutter County averages 3.02 m/s; at 50 m it is 4.45 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.241, typical of ordinary open country. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 4,604 to 9,041 kWh a year, 96% 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 | 3.57 m/s | 4,604 kWh | 67 years |
| 30 m | 3.93 m/s | 6,253 kWh | 49 years |
| 40 m | 4.22 m/s | 7,716 kWh | 40 years |
| 50 m | 4.45 m/s | 9,041 kWh | 34 years |
Counties around Sutter County
3 of the 6 closest counties are windier at turbine height; the windiest, Yolo County, averages 4.42 m/s.
- Yuba County, CA: 3.74 m/s, 5,342 kWh, payback 58 years (25 mi)
- Yolo County, CA: 4.42 m/s, 8,865 kWh, payback 35 years (27 mi)
- Colusa County, CA: 3.92 m/s, 6,182 kWh, payback 50 years (30 mi)
- Butte County, CA: 4.25 m/s, 7,897 kWh, payback 39 years (44 mi)
- Sacramento County, CA: 3.82 m/s, 5,707 kWh, payback 54 years (45 mi)
- Napa County, CA: 3.97 m/s, 6,428 kWh, payback 48 years (50 mi)
Sun versus wind in Sutter County
Sutter County gets 5.11 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,492 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 623. Kilowatt for kilowatt, panels make 2.4 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.