Wind Turbine Payback in Barbour County, WV
Wind turbine payback in Barbour 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 Barbour County, WV averages 3.61 m/s (8.1 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 4,778 kWh a year, worth $744 at WV's 15.58¢/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 Barbour County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Barbour County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 7.7 m/s at the hub against 3.61 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,107 kWh a year here against the turbine's 478, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 105¢/kWh, 6.7 times what WV pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 7.7 m/s instead of 3.61. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of WV
Barbour County is the 2,382nd windiest of 3,144 US counties at turbine height; the national middle is 4.79 m/s. The windiest in WV is Preston County at 3.73 m/s, payback over 100 years.
Month by month in Barbour County
January is the strongest month here, at 4.57 m/s and about 832 kWh. August is the weakest, 2.58 m/s and 129 kWh, so the best month makes 6.4 times the worst. November to March brings in 64% of the year's output in Barbour County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 4.57 m/s | 832 kWh | $130 |
| February | 4.64 m/s | 782 kWh | $122 |
| March | 4.29 m/s | 691 kWh | $108 |
| April | 4.14 m/s | 600 kWh | $93 |
| May | 3.32 m/s | 310 kWh | $48 |
| June | 2.96 m/s | 204 kWh | $32 |
| July | 2.67 m/s | 146 kWh | $23 |
| August | 2.58 m/s | 129 kWh | $20 |
| September | 2.86 m/s | 182 kWh | $28 |
| October | 3.41 m/s | 338 kWh | $53 |
| November | 3.77 m/s | 451 kWh | $70 |
| December | 4.19 m/s | 642 kWh | $100 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Barbour County averages 2.26 m/s; at 50 m it is 4.49 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.427, typical of rough, sheltered ground: trees or buildings slow the low wind a lot. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 2,709 to 9,279 kWh a year, 243% 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 | 3.04 m/s | 2,709 kWh | over 100 years |
| 30 m | 3.61 m/s | 4,778 kWh | over 100 years |
| 40 m | 4.08 m/s | 6,996 kWh | 92 years |
| 50 m | 4.49 m/s | 9,279 kWh | 69 years |
Counties around Barbour County
1 of the 6 closest counties is windier at turbine height; the windiest, Tucker County, averages 3.65 m/s.
- Taylor County, WV: 3.5 m/s, 4,329 kWh, payback over 100 years (14 mi)
- Upshur County, WV: 3.61 m/s, 4,778 kWh, payback over 100 years (21 mi)
- Harrison County, WV: 3.29 m/s, 3,541 kWh, payback over 100 years (23 mi)
- Tucker County, WV: 3.65 m/s, 4,948 kWh, payback over 100 years (24 mi)
- Randolph County, WV: 3.61 m/s, 4,778 kWh, payback over 100 years (26 mi)
- Marion County, WV: 3.5 m/s, 4,329 kWh, payback over 100 years (29 mi)
Sun versus wind in Barbour County
Barbour County gets 3.79 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,107 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 478. Kilowatt for kilowatt, panels make 2.3 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.