Wind Turbine Payback in Bath County, KY
Wind turbine payback in Bath 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 Bath County, KY averages 3.9 m/s (8.7 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 6,085 kWh a year, worth $864 at KY's 14.2¢/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 Bath County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Bath County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 8.2 m/s at the hub against 3.9 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,174 kWh a year here against the turbine's 609, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 82¢/kWh, 5.8 times what KY pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 8.2 m/s instead of 3.9. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of KY
Bath County is the 2,136th windiest of 3,144 US counties at turbine height; the national middle is 4.79 m/s. The windiest in KY is Fulton County at 5.54 m/s, payback 43 years.
Month by month in Bath County
January is the strongest month here, at 4.61 m/s and about 851 kWh. August is the weakest, 2.93 m/s and 205 kWh, so the best month makes 4.2 times the worst. November to March brings in 58% of the year's output in Bath County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 4.61 m/s | 851 kWh | $121 |
| February | 4.64 m/s | 784 kWh | $111 |
| March | 4.56 m/s | 824 kWh | $117 |
| April | 4.54 m/s | 790 kWh | $112 |
| May | 3.77 m/s | 466 kWh | $66 |
| June | 3.34 m/s | 305 kWh | $43 |
| July | 3.03 m/s | 228 kWh | $32 |
| August | 2.93 m/s | 205 kWh | $29 |
| September | 3.24 m/s | 278 kWh | $39 |
| October | 3.81 m/s | 479 kWh | $68 |
| November | 4.10 m/s | 583 kWh | $83 |
| December | 4.29 m/s | 691 kWh | $98 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Bath County averages 2.67 m/s; at 50 m it is 4.65 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.345, typical of rough, sheltered ground: trees or buildings slow the low wind a lot. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 3,904 to 10,257 kWh a year, 163% 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 | 3.39 m/s | 3,904 kWh | over 100 years |
| 30 m | 3.9 m/s | 6,079 kWh | over 100 years |
| 40 m | 4.31 m/s | 8,207 kWh | 86 years |
| 50 m | 4.65 m/s | 10,257 kWh | 69 years |
Counties around Bath County
None of the 6 closest counties is windier than Bath County.
- Montgomery County, KY: 3.9 m/s, 6,085 kWh, payback over 100 years (12 mi)
- Fleming County, KY: 3.42 m/s, 4,018 kWh, payback over 100 years (15 mi)
- Menifee County, KY: 3.9 m/s, 6,085 kWh, payback over 100 years (17 mi)
- Rowan County, KY: 3.22 m/s, 3,299 kWh, payback over 100 years (17 mi)
- Nicholas County, KY: 3.42 m/s, 4,018 kWh, payback over 100 years (20 mi)
- Powell County, KY: 3.9 m/s, 6,085 kWh, payback over 100 years (24 mi)
Sun versus wind in Bath County
Bath County gets 4.02 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,174 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 609. Kilowatt for kilowatt, panels make 1.9 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.