Wind Turbine Payback in Harrison County, IN
Wind turbine payback in Harrison 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 Harrison County, IN averages 3.63 m/s (8.1 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 4,862 kWh a year, worth $829 at IN's 17.04¢/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 Harrison County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Harrison County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 7.3 m/s at the hub against 3.63 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,186 kWh a year here against the turbine's 486, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 103¢/kWh, 6.0 times what IN pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 7.3 m/s instead of 3.63. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of IN
Harrison County is the 2,354th windiest of 3,144 US counties at turbine height; the national middle is 4.79 m/s. The windiest in IN is Lake County at 6.17 m/s, payback 28 years.
Month by month in Harrison County
March is the strongest month here, at 4.29 m/s and about 687 kWh. July is the weakest, 2.72 m/s and 156 kWh, so the best month makes 4.4 times the worst. November to March brings in 58% of the year's output in Harrison County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 4.26 m/s | 676 kWh | $115 |
| February | 4.31 m/s | 631 kWh | $108 |
| March | 4.29 m/s | 687 kWh | $117 |
| April | 4.25 m/s | 647 kWh | $110 |
| May | 3.49 m/s | 364 kWh | $62 |
| June | 3.02 m/s | 219 kWh | $37 |
| July | 2.72 m/s | 156 kWh | $27 |
| August | 2.75 m/s | 163 kWh | $28 |
| September | 3.06 m/s | 229 kWh | $39 |
| October | 3.57 m/s | 392 kWh | $67 |
| November | 3.88 m/s | 490 kWh | $83 |
| December | 3.99 m/s | 554 kWh | $94 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Harrison County averages 2.27 m/s; at 50 m it is 4.51 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.427, typical of rough, sheltered ground: trees or buildings slow the low wind a lot. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 2,750 to 9,399 kWh a year, 242% 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 | 3.05 m/s | 2,750 kWh | over 100 years |
| 30 m | 3.63 m/s | 4,846 kWh | over 100 years |
| 40 m | 4.1 m/s | 7,091 kWh | 83 years |
| 50 m | 4.51 m/s | 9,399 kWh | 62 years |
Counties around Harrison County
5 of the 6 closest counties are windier at turbine height; the windiest, Jefferson County, averages 4.63 m/s.
- Floyd County, IN: 4.61 m/s, 10,008 kWh, payback 59 years (14 mi)
- Meade County, KY: 3.63 m/s, 4,862 kWh, payback over 100 years (16 mi)
- Crawford County, IN: 4.21 m/s, 7,678 kWh, payback 76 years (20 mi)
- Jefferson County, KY: 4.63 m/s, 10,132 kWh, payback 70 years (24 mi)
- Bullitt County, KY: 4.63 m/s, 10,132 kWh, payback 70 years (26 mi)
- Washington County, IN: 4.21 m/s, 7,678 kWh, payback 76 years (29 mi)
Sun versus wind in Harrison County
Harrison 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 486. Kilowatt for kilowatt, panels make 2.4 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.