Wind Turbine Payback in Tehama County, CA
Wind turbine payback in Tehama 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 Tehama County, CA averages 3.89 m/s (8.7 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 6,037 kWh a year, worth $1,967 at CA's 32.58¢/kWh. Against an installed cost of about $100,000, that is a payback of 51 years, and the turbine is built to last about 20.
What to do in Tehama County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Tehama County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 5.4 m/s at the hub against 3.89 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,448 kWh a year here against the turbine's 604, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 83¢/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 3.89. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of CA
Tehama County is the 2,141st 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 Tehama County
December is the strongest month here, at 4.39 m/s and about 737 kWh. August is the weakest, 3.08 m/s and 242 kWh, so the best month makes 3.0 times the worst. November to March brings in 50% of the year's output in Tehama County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 3.99 m/s | 555 kWh | $181 |
| February | 4.44 m/s | 689 kWh | $224 |
| March | 4.17 m/s | 632 kWh | $206 |
| April | 4.11 m/s | 589 kWh | $192 |
| May | 3.92 m/s | 525 kWh | $171 |
| June | 3.94 m/s | 515 kWh | $168 |
| July | 3.15 m/s | 261 kWh | $85 |
| August | 3.08 m/s | 242 kWh | $79 |
| September | 3.53 m/s | 366 kWh | $119 |
| October | 4.11 m/s | 608 kWh | $198 |
| November | 3.99 m/s | 537 kWh | $175 |
| December | 4.39 m/s | 737 kWh | $240 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Tehama County averages 2.98 m/s; at 50 m it is 4.41 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.244, typical of ordinary open country. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 4,434 to 8,807 kWh a year, 99% 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 | 3.53 m/s | 4,434 kWh | 69 years |
| 30 m | 3.89 m/s | 6,053 kWh | 51 years |
| 40 m | 4.18 m/s | 7,495 kWh | 41 years |
| 50 m | 4.41 m/s | 8,807 kWh | 35 years |
Counties around Tehama County
2 of the 6 closest counties are windier at turbine height; the windiest, Butte County, averages 4.25 m/s.
- Glenn County, CA: 3.8 m/s, 5,614 kWh, payback 55 years (37 mi)
- Shasta County, CA: 3.27 m/s, 3,471 kWh, payback 88 years (45 mi)
- Butte County, CA: 4.25 m/s, 7,897 kWh, payback 39 years (46 mi)
- Trinity County, CA: 2.43 m/s, 1,211 kWh, payback over 100 years (59 mi)
- Colusa County, CA: 3.92 m/s, 6,182 kWh, payback 50 years (66 mi)
- Plumas County, CA: 3.24 m/s, 3,367 kWh, payback 91 years (75 mi)
Sun versus wind in Tehama County
Tehama County gets 4.96 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,448 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 604. 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.