Wind Turbine Payback in Van Buren County, MI
Wind turbine payback in Van Buren 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 Van Buren County, MI averages 6.61 m/s (14.8 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 24,216 kWh a year, worth $5,262 at MI's 21.73¢/kWh. Against an installed cost of about $100,000, that is a payback of 19 years, and the turbine is built to last about 20.
What to do in Van Buren 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 1,080 kWh a year here against the turbine's 2,422, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power already costs enough here: break-even is 21¢/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
Van Buren County is the 107th 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 Van Buren County
January is the strongest month here, at 7.76 m/s and about 2,741 kWh. July is the weakest, 4.94 m/s and 1,028 kWh, so the best month makes 2.7 times the worst. November to March brings in 52% of the year's output in Van Buren County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 7.76 m/s | 2,741 kWh | $596 |
| February | 7.53 m/s | 2,359 kWh | $513 |
| March | 7.04 m/s | 2,318 kWh | $504 |
| April | 7.22 m/s | 2,350 kWh | $511 |
| May | 6.35 m/s | 1,892 kWh | $411 |
| June | 5.53 m/s | 1,337 kWh | $291 |
| July | 4.94 m/s | 1,028 kWh | $223 |
| August | 4.94 m/s | 1,033 kWh | $224 |
| September | 5.85 m/s | 1,530 kWh | $332 |
| October | 7.10 m/s | 2,357 kWh | $512 |
| November | 7.61 m/s | 2,573 kWh | $559 |
| December | 7.60 m/s | 2,648 kWh | $575 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Van Buren County averages 5.49 m/s; at 50 m it is 7.21 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.169, typical of very open, smooth ground where height adds little. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 21,007 to 28,531 kWh a year, 36% 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 | 6.18 m/s | 21,007 kWh | 22 years |
| 30 m | 6.61 m/s | 24,243 kWh | 19 years |
| 40 m | 6.94 m/s | 26,636 kWh | 17 years |
| 50 m | 7.21 m/s | 28,531 kWh | 16 years |
Counties around Van Buren County
1 of the 6 closest counties is windier at turbine height; the windiest, Berrien County, averages 6.87 m/s.
- Allegan County, MI: 6.61 m/s, 24,216 kWh, payback 19 years (10 mi)
- Cass County, MI: 6.35 m/s, 22,299 kWh, payback 21 years (30 mi)
- Kalamazoo County, MI: 6.05 m/s, 20,075 kWh, payback 23 years (40 mi)
- Berrien County, MI: 6.87 m/s, 26,109 kWh, payback 18 years (41 mi)
- St. Joseph County, IN: 5.96 m/s, 19,408 kWh, payback 30 years (46 mi)
- St. Joseph County, MI: 6.05 m/s, 20,075 kWh, payback 23 years (48 mi)
Sun versus wind in Van Buren County
Van Buren County gets 3.7 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,080 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 2,422. This is one of the rare places where a kilowatt of turbine out-produces a kilowatt of panels, by 2.2 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.