Wind Turbine Payback in Athens County, OH
Wind turbine payback in Athens 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 Athens County, OH averages 3.31 m/s (7.4 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 3,612 kWh a year, worth $679 at OH's 18.81¢/kWh. Against an installed cost of about $100,000, that is a payback of over 100 years, and the turbine is built to last about 20.
What to do in Athens County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Athens County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 6.9 m/s at the hub against 3.31 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,145 kWh a year here against the turbine's 361, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 138¢/kWh, 7.4 times what OH pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 6.9 m/s instead of 3.31. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of OH
Athens County is the 2,729th windiest of 3,144 US counties at turbine height; the national middle is 4.79 m/s. The windiest in OH is Lake County at 6.53 m/s, payback 23 years.
Month by month in Athens County
January is the strongest month here, at 3.89 m/s and about 512 kWh. August is the weakest, 2.54 m/s and 121 kWh, so the best month makes 4.2 times the worst. November to March brings in 58% of the year's output in Athens County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 3.89 m/s | 512 kWh | $96 |
| February | 3.98 m/s | 498 kWh | $94 |
| March | 3.87 m/s | 505 kWh | $95 |
| April | 3.83 m/s | 474 kWh | $89 |
| May | 3.14 m/s | 258 kWh | $49 |
| June | 2.86 m/s | 182 kWh | $34 |
| July | 2.57 m/s | 127 kWh | $24 |
| August | 2.54 m/s | 121 kWh | $23 |
| September | 2.79 m/s | 166 kWh | $31 |
| October | 3.24 m/s | 287 kWh | $54 |
| November | 3.47 m/s | 347 kWh | $65 |
| December | 3.59 m/s | 400 kWh | $75 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Athens County averages 2.02 m/s; at 50 m it is 4.16 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.449, typical of rough, sheltered ground: trees or buildings slow the low wind a lot. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 1,937 to 7,408 kWh a year, 282% 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 | 2.76 m/s | 1,937 kWh | over 100 years |
| 30 m | 3.31 m/s | 3,603 kWh | over 100 years |
| 40 m | 3.76 m/s | 5,447 kWh | 98 years |
| 50 m | 4.16 m/s | 7,408 kWh | 72 years |
Counties around Athens County
3 of the 6 closest counties are windier at turbine height; the windiest, Vinton County, averages 3.94 m/s.
- Meigs County, OH: 3.19 m/s, 3,198 kWh, payback over 100 years (17 mi)
- Morgan County, OH: 3.31 m/s, 3,612 kWh, payback over 100 years (22 mi)
- Vinton County, OH: 3.94 m/s, 6,280 kWh, payback 85 years (24 mi)
- Hocking County, OH: 3.94 m/s, 6,280 kWh, payback 85 years (26 mi)
- Wood County, WV: 3.19 m/s, 3,198 kWh, payback over 100 years (30 mi)
- Perry County, OH: 3.94 m/s, 6,280 kWh, payback 85 years (30 mi)
Sun versus wind in Athens County
Athens County gets 3.92 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,145 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 361. Kilowatt for kilowatt, panels make 3.2 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.