Wind Turbine Payback in Fairfield County, OH
Wind turbine payback in Fairfield 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 Fairfield County, OH averages 3.94 m/s (8.8 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 6,280 kWh a year, worth $1,181 at OH's 18.81¢/kWh. Against an installed cost of about $100,000, that is a payback of 85 years, and the turbine is built to last about 20.
What to do in Fairfield County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Fairfield County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 6.9 m/s at the hub against 3.94 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,145 kWh a year here against the turbine's 628, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 80¢/kWh, 4.2 times what OH pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 6.9 m/s instead of 3.94. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of OH
Fairfield County is the 2,096th 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 Fairfield County
January is the strongest month here, at 4.65 m/s and about 870 kWh. August is the weakest, 2.97 m/s and 213 kWh, so the best month makes 4.1 times the worst. November to March brings in 58% of the year's output in Fairfield County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 4.65 m/s | 870 kWh | $164 |
| February | 4.69 m/s | 806 kWh | $152 |
| March | 4.61 m/s | 848 kWh | $160 |
| April | 4.58 m/s | 808 kWh | $152 |
| May | 3.76 m/s | 461 kWh | $87 |
| June | 3.40 m/s | 324 kWh | $61 |
| July | 2.99 m/s | 217 kWh | $41 |
| August | 2.97 m/s | 213 kWh | $40 |
| September | 3.28 m/s | 287 kWh | $54 |
| October | 3.90 m/s | 517 kWh | $97 |
| November | 4.20 m/s | 626 kWh | $118 |
| December | 4.32 m/s | 706 kWh | $133 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Fairfield County averages 2.65 m/s; at 50 m it is 4.74 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.361, typical of rough, sheltered ground: trees or buildings slow the low wind a lot. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 3,961 to 10,826 kWh a year, 173% 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 | 3.41 m/s | 3,961 kWh | over 100 years |
| 30 m | 3.94 m/s | 6,288 kWh | 85 years |
| 40 m | 4.37 m/s | 8,593 kWh | 62 years |
| 50 m | 4.74 m/s | 10,826 kWh | 49 years |
Counties around Fairfield County
3 of the 6 closest counties are windier at turbine height; the windiest, Franklin County, averages 5.54 m/s.
- Hocking County, OH: 3.94 m/s, 6,280 kWh, payback 85 years (19 mi)
- Perry County, OH: 3.94 m/s, 6,280 kWh, payback 85 years (21 mi)
- Pickaway County, OH: 4.88 m/s, 11,734 kWh, payback 45 years (24 mi)
- Licking County, OH: 4.33 m/s, 8,346 kWh, payback 64 years (25 mi)
- Franklin County, OH: 5.54 m/s, 16,326 kWh, payback 33 years (25 mi)
- Vinton County, OH: 3.94 m/s, 6,280 kWh, payback 85 years (35 mi)
Sun versus wind in Fairfield County
Fairfield County gets 3.92 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,145 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 628. Kilowatt for kilowatt, panels make 1.8 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.