Wind Turbine Payback in Brown County, IN
Wind turbine payback in Brown 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 Brown County, IN averages 4.32 m/s (9.7 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 8,289 kWh a year, worth $1,412 at IN's 17.04¢/kWh. Against an installed cost of about $100,000, that is a payback of 71 years, and the turbine is built to last about 20.
What to do in Brown County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Brown County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 7.3 m/s at the hub against 4.32 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,168 kWh a year here against the turbine's 829, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 60¢/kWh, 3.5 times what IN pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 7.3 m/s instead of 4.32. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of IN
Brown County is the 1,882nd windiest of 3,144 US counties at turbine height; the national middle is 4.79 m/s. The windiest in IN is Lake County at 6.17 m/s, payback 28 years.
Month by month in Brown County
January is the strongest month here, at 5.04 m/s and about 1,088 kWh. July is the weakest, 3.23 m/s and 282 kWh, so the best month makes 3.9 times the worst. November to March brings in 56% of the year's output in Brown County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 5.04 m/s | 1,088 kWh | $185 |
| February | 5.04 m/s | 983 kWh | $168 |
| March | 5.03 m/s | 1,083 kWh | $185 |
| April | 5.08 m/s | 1,072 kWh | $183 |
| May | 4.21 m/s | 650 kWh | $111 |
| June | 3.65 m/s | 406 kWh | $69 |
| July | 3.23 m/s | 282 kWh | $48 |
| August | 3.23 m/s | 284 kWh | $48 |
| September | 3.66 m/s | 409 kWh | $70 |
| October | 4.32 m/s | 706 kWh | $120 |
| November | 4.64 m/s | 840 kWh | $143 |
| December | 4.74 m/s | 918 kWh | $156 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Brown County averages 3 m/s; at 50 m it is 5.11 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.331, typical of rough, sheltered ground: trees or buildings slow the low wind a lot. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 5,491 to 13,284 kWh a year, 142% 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 | 3.77 m/s | 5,491 kWh | over 100 years |
| 30 m | 4.32 m/s | 8,261 kWh | 71 years |
| 40 m | 4.75 m/s | 10,865 kWh | 54 years |
| 50 m | 5.11 m/s | 13,284 kWh | 44 years |
Counties around Brown County
3 of the 6 closest counties are windier at turbine height; the windiest, Johnson County, averages 5.09 m/s.
- Monroe County, IN: 4.32 m/s, 8,289 kWh, payback 71 years (16 mi)
- Bartholomew County, IN: 4.82 m/s, 11,341 kWh, payback 52 years (18 mi)
- Jackson County, IN: 4.32 m/s, 8,289 kWh, payback 71 years (22 mi)
- Johnson County, IN: 5.09 m/s, 13,146 kWh, payback 45 years (22 mi)
- Morgan County, IN: 5.09 m/s, 13,146 kWh, payback 45 years (23 mi)
- Lawrence County, IN: 4.32 m/s, 8,289 kWh, payback 71 years (28 mi)
Sun versus wind in Brown County
Brown County gets 4 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,168 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 829. Kilowatt for kilowatt, panels make 1.4 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.