Wind Turbine Payback in Greene County, OH
Wind turbine payback in Greene 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 Greene County, OH averages 5.48 m/s (12.3 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 15,893 kWh a year, worth $2,989 at OH's 18.81¢/kWh. Against an installed cost of about $100,000, that is a payback of 34 years, and the turbine is built to last about 20.
What to do in Greene County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Greene County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 6.9 m/s at the hub against 5.48 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,165 kWh a year here against the turbine's 1,589, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 31¢/kWh, 1.7 times what OH pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 6.9 m/s instead of 5.48. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of OH
Greene County is the 1,234th 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 Greene County
January is the strongest month here, at 6.44 m/s and about 1,949 kWh. August is the weakest, 4.04 m/s and 575 kWh, so the best month makes 3.4 times the worst. November to March brings in 55% of the year's output in Greene County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 6.44 m/s | 1,949 kWh | $367 |
| February | 6.32 m/s | 1,695 kWh | $319 |
| March | 6.26 m/s | 1,838 kWh | $346 |
| April | 6.39 m/s | 1,859 kWh | $350 |
| May | 5.31 m/s | 1,246 kWh | $234 |
| June | 4.69 m/s | 865 kWh | $163 |
| July | 4.05 m/s | 579 kWh | $109 |
| August | 4.04 m/s | 575 kWh | $108 |
| September | 4.55 m/s | 793 kWh | $149 |
| October | 5.56 m/s | 1,396 kWh | $263 |
| November | 6.01 m/s | 1,628 kWh | $306 |
| December | 6.13 m/s | 1,755 kWh | $330 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Greene County averages 4.18 m/s; at 50 m it is 6.21 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.246, typical of ordinary open country. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 12,244 to 21,262 kWh a year, 74% 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 | 4.96 m/s | 12,244 kWh | 43 years |
| 30 m | 5.48 m/s | 15,869 kWh | 34 years |
| 40 m | 5.88 m/s | 18,804 kWh | 28 years |
| 50 m | 6.21 m/s | 21,262 kWh | 25 years |
Counties around Greene County
3 of the 6 closest counties are windier at turbine height; the windiest, Montgomery County, averages 5.77 m/s.
- Clark County, OH: 5.76 m/s, 17,932 kWh, payback 30 years (17 mi)
- Clinton County, OH: 5.48 m/s, 15,893 kWh, payback 34 years (19 mi)
- Montgomery County, OH: 5.77 m/s, 18,006 kWh, payback 30 years (22 mi)
- Warren County, OH: 5.33 m/s, 14,821 kWh, payback 36 years (23 mi)
- Fayette County, OH: 5.48 m/s, 15,893 kWh, payback 34 years (25 mi)
- Madison County, OH: 5.54 m/s, 16,326 kWh, payback 33 years (30 mi)
Sun versus wind in Greene County
Greene County gets 3.99 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,165 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 1,589. This is one of the rare places where a kilowatt of turbine out-produces a kilowatt of panels, by 1.4 times. 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.