Wind Turbine Payback in Harlan County, KY
Wind turbine payback in Harlan 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 Harlan County, KY averages 3.21 m/s (7.2 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 3,265 kWh a year, worth $464 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 Harlan County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Harlan County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 8.2 m/s at the hub against 3.21 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,232 kWh a year here against the turbine's 327, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 153¢/kWh, 10.8 times what KY pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 8.2 m/s instead of 3.21. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of KY
Harlan County is the 2,874th 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 Harlan County
March is the strongest month here, at 3.83 m/s and about 490 kWh. August is the weakest, 2.40 m/s and 99 kWh, so the best month makes 4.9 times the worst. November to March brings in 60% of the year's output in Harlan County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 3.75 m/s | 459 kWh | $65 |
| February | 3.89 m/s | 462 kWh | $66 |
| March | 3.83 m/s | 490 kWh | $70 |
| April | 3.73 m/s | 435 kWh | $62 |
| May | 3.06 m/s | 237 kWh | $34 |
| June | 2.67 m/s | 141 kWh | $20 |
| July | 2.45 m/s | 106 kWh | $15 |
| August | 2.40 m/s | 99 kWh | $14 |
| September | 2.67 m/s | 141 kWh | $20 |
| October | 3.11 m/s | 250 kWh | $36 |
| November | 3.36 m/s | 313 kWh | $44 |
| December | 3.54 m/s | 381 kWh | $54 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Harlan County averages 1.95 m/s; at 50 m it is 4.04 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.453, typical of rough, sheltered ground: trees or buildings slow the low wind a lot. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 1,720 to 6,780 kWh a year, 294% 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 | 2.67 m/s | 1,720 kWh | over 100 years |
| 30 m | 3.21 m/s | 3,250 kWh | over 100 years |
| 40 m | 3.65 m/s | 4,954 kWh | over 100 years |
| 50 m | 4.04 m/s | 6,780 kWh | over 100 years |
Counties around Harlan County
None of the 6 closest counties is windier than Harlan County.
- Lee County, VA: 3.18 m/s, 3,165 kWh, payback over 100 years (12 mi)
- Leslie County, KY: 3.21 m/s, 3,265 kWh, payback over 100 years (18 mi)
- Hancock County, TN: 3.18 m/s, 3,165 kWh, payback over 100 years (23 mi)
- Perry County, KY: 3.21 m/s, 3,265 kWh, payback over 100 years (26 mi)
- Letcher County, KY: 3.21 m/s, 3,265 kWh, payback over 100 years (27 mi)
- Bell County, KY: 3.14 m/s, 3,034 kWh, payback over 100 years (27 mi)
Sun versus wind in Harlan County
Harlan County gets 4.22 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,232 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 327. Kilowatt for kilowatt, panels make 3.8 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.