Wind Turbine Payback in Brown County, OH
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, OH averages 4.58 m/s (10.2 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 9,824 kWh a year, worth $1,848 at OH's 18.81¢/kWh. Against an installed cost of about $100,000, that is a payback of 54 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, 6.9 m/s at the hub against 4.58 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,174 kWh a year here against the turbine's 982, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 51¢/kWh, 2.7 times what OH pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 6.9 m/s instead of 4.58. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of OH
Brown County is the 1,700th 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 Brown County
January is the strongest month here, at 5.40 m/s and about 1,300 kWh. July is the weakest, 3.42 m/s and 341 kWh, so the best month makes 3.8 times the worst. November to March brings in 57% of the year's output in Brown County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 5.40 m/s | 1,300 kWh | $245 |
| February | 5.37 m/s | 1,160 kWh | $218 |
| March | 5.31 m/s | 1,248 kWh | $235 |
| April | 5.35 m/s | 1,227 kWh | $231 |
| May | 4.40 m/s | 741 kWh | $139 |
| June | 3.88 m/s | 491 kWh | $92 |
| July | 3.42 m/s | 341 kWh | $64 |
| August | 3.45 m/s | 350 kWh | $66 |
| September | 3.85 m/s | 481 kWh | $90 |
| October | 4.59 m/s | 837 kWh | $157 |
| November | 4.93 m/s | 992 kWh | $187 |
| December | 5.08 m/s | 1,110 kWh | $209 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Brown County averages 3.34 m/s; at 50 m it is 5.3 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.287, typical of ordinary open country. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 6,957 to 14,608 kWh a year, 110% 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 | 4.07 m/s | 6,957 kWh | 76 years |
| 30 m | 4.58 m/s | 9,807 kWh | 54 years |
| 40 m | 4.97 m/s | 12,341 kWh | 43 years |
| 50 m | 5.3 m/s | 14,608 kWh | 36 years |
Counties around Brown County
None of the 6 closest counties is windier than Brown County.
- Clermont County, OH: 3.7 m/s, 5,164 kWh, payback over 100 years (17 mi)
- Bracken County, KY: 3.67 m/s, 5,034 kWh, payback over 100 years (22 mi)
- Adams County, OH: 4.58 m/s, 9,824 kWh, payback 54 years (22 mi)
- Highland County, OH: 4.58 m/s, 9,824 kWh, payback 54 years (23 mi)
- Mason County, KY: 3.42 m/s, 4,018 kWh, payback over 100 years (23 mi)
- Campbell County, KY: 3.7 m/s, 5,164 kWh, payback over 100 years (28 mi)
Sun versus wind in Brown County
Brown 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 982. Kilowatt for kilowatt, panels make 1.2 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.