Wind Turbine Payback in Gallatin County, KY
Wind turbine payback in Gallatin 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 Gallatin County, KY averages 3.91 m/s (8.7 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 6,134 kWh a year, worth $871 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 Gallatin County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Gallatin County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 8.2 m/s at the hub against 3.91 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,186 kWh a year here against the turbine's 613, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 82¢/kWh, 5.7 times what KY pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 8.2 m/s instead of 3.91. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of KY
Gallatin County is the 2,125th 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 Gallatin County
January is the strongest month here, at 4.62 m/s and about 858 kWh. August is the weakest, 2.92 m/s and 201 kWh, so the best month makes 4.3 times the worst. November to March brings in 58% of the year's output in Gallatin County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 4.62 m/s | 858 kWh | $122 |
| February | 4.62 m/s | 775 kWh | $110 |
| March | 4.58 m/s | 832 kWh | $118 |
| April | 4.58 m/s | 809 kWh | $115 |
| May | 3.76 m/s | 461 kWh | $65 |
| June | 3.29 m/s | 291 kWh | $41 |
| July | 2.93 m/s | 203 kWh | $29 |
| August | 2.92 m/s | 201 kWh | $29 |
| September | 3.25 m/s | 279 kWh | $40 |
| October | 3.87 m/s | 503 kWh | $71 |
| November | 4.19 m/s | 621 kWh | $88 |
| December | 4.30 m/s | 696 kWh | $99 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Gallatin County averages 2.58 m/s; at 50 m it is 4.74 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.378, typical of rough, sheltered ground: trees or buildings slow the low wind a lot. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 3,766 to 10,826 kWh a year, 187% 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 | 3.35 m/s | 3,766 kWh | over 100 years |
| 30 m | 3.91 m/s | 6,122 kWh | over 100 years |
| 40 m | 4.36 m/s | 8,498 kWh | 83 years |
| 50 m | 4.74 m/s | 10,826 kWh | 65 years |
Counties around Gallatin County
None of the 6 closest counties is windier than Gallatin County.
- Switzerland County, IN: 3.91 m/s, 6,134 kWh, payback 96 years (10 mi)
- Ohio County, IN: 3.91 m/s, 6,134 kWh, payback 96 years (14 mi)
- Grant County, KY: 3.67 m/s, 5,034 kWh, payback over 100 years (15 mi)
- Carroll County, KY: 3.76 m/s, 5,432 kWh, payback over 100 years (15 mi)
- Boone County, KY: 3.91 m/s, 6,134 kWh, payback over 100 years (16 mi)
- Owen County, KY: 3.76 m/s, 5,432 kWh, payback over 100 years (18 mi)
Sun versus wind in Gallatin County
Gallatin County gets 4.06 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,186 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 613. 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.