Wind Turbine Payback in Gallia County, OH
Wind turbine payback in Gallia 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 Gallia County, OH averages 3.3 m/s (7.4 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 3,577 kWh a year, worth $673 at OH's 18.81¢/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 Gallia County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Gallia County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 6.9 m/s at the hub against 3.3 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,168 kWh a year here against the turbine's 358, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 140¢/kWh, 7.4 times what OH pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 6.9 m/s instead of 3.3. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of OH
Gallia County is the 2,741st 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 Gallia County
January is the strongest month here, at 3.90 m/s and about 517 kWh. August is the weakest, 2.50 m/s and 115 kWh, so the best month makes 4.5 times the worst. November to March brings in 59% of the year's output in Gallia County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 3.90 m/s | 517 kWh | $97 |
| February | 3.98 m/s | 497 kWh | $93 |
| March | 3.90 m/s | 517 kWh | $97 |
| April | 3.85 m/s | 481 kWh | $90 |
| May | 3.13 m/s | 256 kWh | $48 |
| June | 2.83 m/s | 175 kWh | $33 |
| July | 2.53 m/s | 120 kWh | $23 |
| August | 2.50 m/s | 115 kWh | $22 |
| September | 2.76 m/s | 160 kWh | $30 |
| October | 3.23 m/s | 283 kWh | $53 |
| November | 3.48 m/s | 348 kWh | $65 |
| December | 3.61 m/s | 407 kWh | $77 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Gallia County averages 2.03 m/s; at 50 m it is 4.14 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.443, typical of rough, sheltered ground: trees or buildings slow the low wind a lot. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 1,942 to 7,301 kWh a year, 276% 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 | 2.76 m/s | 1,942 kWh | over 100 years |
| 30 m | 3.3 m/s | 3,582 kWh | over 100 years |
| 40 m | 3.75 m/s | 5,388 kWh | 99 years |
| 50 m | 4.14 m/s | 7,301 kWh | 73 years |
Counties around Gallia County
None of the 6 closest counties is windier than Gallia County.
- Mason County, WV: 3.19 m/s, 3,198 kWh, payback over 100 years (15 mi)
- Lawrence County, OH: 3.14 m/s, 3,034 kWh, payback over 100 years (19 mi)
- Jackson County, OH: 3.3 m/s, 3,577 kWh, payback over 100 years (22 mi)
- Meigs County, OH: 3.19 m/s, 3,198 kWh, payback over 100 years (24 mi)
- Cabell County, WV: 3.14 m/s, 3,034 kWh, payback over 100 years (28 mi)
- Putnam County, WV: 3.15 m/s, 3,067 kWh, payback over 100 years (30 mi)
Sun versus wind in Gallia County
Gallia 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 358. Kilowatt for kilowatt, panels make 3.3 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.