Wind Turbine Payback in Christian County, KY
Wind turbine payback in Christian 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 Christian County, KY averages 4.46 m/s (10 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 9,100 kWh a year, worth $1,292 at KY's 14.2¢/kWh. Against an installed cost of about $100,000, that is a payback of 77 years, and the turbine is built to last about 20.
What to do in Christian County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Christian County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 8.2 m/s at the hub against 4.46 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,241 kWh a year here against the turbine's 910, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 55¢/kWh, 3.9 times what KY pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 8.2 m/s instead of 4.46. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of KY
Christian County is the 1,772nd 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 Christian County
March is the strongest month here, at 5.29 m/s and about 1,236 kWh. July is the weakest, 3.28 m/s and 298 kWh, so the best month makes 4.1 times the worst. November to March brings in 57% of the year's output in Christian County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 5.18 m/s | 1,170 kWh | $166 |
| February | 5.22 m/s | 1,080 kWh | $153 |
| March | 5.29 m/s | 1,236 kWh | $176 |
| April | 5.32 m/s | 1,211 kWh | $172 |
| May | 4.38 m/s | 733 kWh | $104 |
| June | 3.69 m/s | 421 kWh | $60 |
| July | 3.28 m/s | 298 kWh | $42 |
| August | 3.31 m/s | 306 kWh | $43 |
| September | 3.74 m/s | 440 kWh | $62 |
| October | 4.41 m/s | 750 kWh | $107 |
| November | 4.81 m/s | 925 kWh | $131 |
| December | 4.93 m/s | 1,027 kWh | $146 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Christian County averages 3.16 m/s; at 50 m it is 5.23 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.313, typical of rough, sheltered ground: trees or buildings slow the low wind a lot. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 6,211 to 14,116 kWh a year, 127% 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 | 3.93 m/s | 6,211 kWh | over 100 years |
| 30 m | 4.46 m/s | 9,084 kWh | 78 years |
| 40 m | 4.88 m/s | 11,716 kWh | 60 years |
| 50 m | 5.23 m/s | 14,116 kWh | 50 years |
Counties around Christian County
3 of the 6 closest counties are windier at turbine height; the windiest, Trigg County, averages 4.94 m/s.
- Todd County, KY: 4.38 m/s, 8,632 kWh, payback 82 years (17 mi)
- Trigg County, KY: 4.94 m/s, 12,132 kWh, payback 58 years (21 mi)
- Caldwell County, KY: 4.94 m/s, 12,132 kWh, payback 58 years (27 mi)
- Montgomery County, TN: 3.99 m/s, 6,527 kWh, payback over 100 years (28 mi)
- Hopkins County, KY: 4.88 m/s, 11,734 kWh, payback 60 years (29 mi)
- Muhlenberg County, KY: 4.38 m/s, 8,632 kWh, payback 82 years (30 mi)
Sun versus wind in Christian County
Christian County gets 4.25 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,241 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 910. 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.