Renewable Energy, Solar & Wind Manufacturing worked example

Renewable Automation Payback with automation cell capital investment of 12,500 $: a worked example

This worked example runs the renewable automation payback numbers for a tougher week than the baseline: automation cell capital investment of 12,500 $ instead of the typical 25,000 $. Estimate renewable automation payback for renewable energy, solar and wind manufacturing using production-ready inputs so teams can screen a capital project before a detailed business case.

The inputs for this scenario

  • Automation cell capital investment: 12,500 $ (the input this scenario stresses; the baseline uses 25,000)
  • Annual labor and scrap savings: 18,000 $ / yr (held at the documented default)
  • Annual maintenance and support cost: 2,500 $ / yr (held at the documented default)

Working through the calculation

  • The calculation starts from the formula this tool documents: Net annual renewable automation payback savings = annual renewable automation payback savings - annual renewable automation payback support cost.
  • Renewable automation payback payback period works out to 0.81 yr at these inputs, and this is the headline figure for the scenario.
  • Net annual renewable automation payback savings works out to 15,500 $ / yr at these inputs.
  • Renewable automation payback investment works out to 12,500 $ at these inputs.
  • Five-year net renewable automation payback value works out to 65,000 $ at these inputs.

How this compares with the baseline

  • Against the tool's baseline example, where automation cell capital investment sits at 25,000 $ and the headline result is 1.61 yr, this scenario comes in 50% below the baseline at 0.81 yr.
  • Use it when comparing automation vendors, building a capex business case, or deciding whether to automate a manual solar or wind process. A result at this level usually justifies acting on the stressed input before touching anything else, because every other figure in the table is downstream of it.

Results at a glance

  • Renewable automation payback payback period: 0.81 yr (headline result)
  • Net annual renewable automation payback savings: 15,500 $ / yr
  • Renewable automation payback investment: 12,500 $
  • Five-year net renewable automation payback value: 65,000 $

Run it with your numbers

  • To rerun this with your own numbers, open the live Renewable Automation Payback calculator, set automation cell capital investment to your actual value, and adjust the remaining inputs to match your operation.

Last reviewed 2026-05-12.