Wind Turbine Payback in Vernon County, WI
Wind turbine payback in Vernon 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 Vernon County, WI averages 6.09 m/s (13.6 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 20,371 kWh a year, worth $3,881 at WI's 19.05¢/kWh. Against an installed cost of about $100,000, that is a payback of 26 years, and the turbine is built to last about 20.
What to do in Vernon County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Vernon County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 6.9 m/s at the hub against 6.09 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,133 kWh a year here against the turbine's 2,037, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 25¢/kWh, 1.3 times what WI pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 6.9 m/s instead of 6.09. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of WI
Vernon County is the 701st windiest of 3,144 US counties at turbine height; the national middle is 4.79 m/s. The windiest in WI is Manitowoc County at 7.32 m/s, payback 18 years.
Month by month in Vernon County
April is the strongest month here, at 6.86 m/s and about 2,138 kWh. August is the weakest, 4.90 m/s and 1,009 kWh, so the best month makes 2.1 times the worst. November to March brings in 48% of the year's output in Vernon County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 6.60 m/s | 2,049 kWh | $390 |
| February | 6.74 m/s | 1,931 kWh | $368 |
| March | 6.53 m/s | 2,004 kWh | $382 |
| April | 6.86 m/s | 2,138 kWh | $407 |
| May | 6.13 m/s | 1,758 kWh | $335 |
| June | 5.54 m/s | 1,344 kWh | $256 |
| July | 4.97 m/s | 1,049 kWh | $200 |
| August | 4.90 m/s | 1,009 kWh | $192 |
| September | 5.79 m/s | 1,489 kWh | $284 |
| October | 6.39 m/s | 1,921 kWh | $366 |
| November | 6.41 m/s | 1,869 kWh | $356 |
| December | 6.26 m/s | 1,836 kWh | $350 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Vernon County averages 4.77 m/s; at 50 m it is 6.82 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.222, typical of ordinary open country. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 16,505 to 25,747 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 | 5.56 m/s | 16,505 kWh | 32 years |
| 30 m | 6.09 m/s | 20,363 kWh | 26 years |
| 40 m | 6.49 m/s | 23,336 kWh | 23 years |
| 50 m | 6.82 m/s | 25,747 kWh | 20 years |
Counties around Vernon County
None of the 6 closest counties is windier than Vernon County.
- Richland County, WI: 6.09 m/s, 20,371 kWh, payback 26 years (25 mi)
- Crawford County, WI: 6 m/s, 19,704 kWh, payback 27 years (25 mi)
- La Crosse County, WI: 6.03 m/s, 19,926 kWh, payback 26 years (26 mi)
- Monroe County, WI: 6.07 m/s, 20,223 kWh, payback 26 years (26 mi)
- Houston County, MN: 6.09 m/s, 20,371 kWh, payback 30 years (34 mi)
- Allamakee County, IA: 6.09 m/s, 20,371 kWh, payback 34 years (36 mi)
Sun versus wind in Vernon County
Vernon County gets 3.88 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,133 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 2,037. This is one of the rare places where a kilowatt of turbine out-produces a kilowatt of panels, by 1.8 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.