Wind Turbine Payback in Henry County, OH
Wind turbine payback in Henry 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 Henry County, OH averages 5.92 m/s (13.2 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 19,112 kWh a year, worth $3,595 at OH's 18.81¢/kWh. Against an installed cost of about $100,000, that is a payback of 28 years, and the turbine is built to last about 20.
What to do in Henry County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Henry County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 6.9 m/s at the hub against 5.92 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,127 kWh a year here against the turbine's 1,911, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 26¢/kWh, 1.4 times what OH pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 6.9 m/s instead of 5.92. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of OH
Henry County is the 959th 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 Henry County
January is the strongest month here, at 6.77 m/s and about 2,158 kWh. August is the weakest, 4.49 m/s and 786 kWh, so the best month makes 2.7 times the worst. November to March brings in 52% of the year's output in Henry County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 6.77 m/s | 2,158 kWh | $406 |
| February | 6.67 m/s | 1,889 kWh | $355 |
| March | 6.53 m/s | 2,009 kWh | $378 |
| April | 6.81 m/s | 2,110 kWh | $397 |
| May | 5.85 m/s | 1,578 kWh | $297 |
| June | 5.14 m/s | 1,106 kWh | $208 |
| July | 4.59 m/s | 841 kWh | $158 |
| August | 4.49 m/s | 786 kWh | $148 |
| September | 5.09 m/s | 1,081 kWh | $203 |
| October | 6.18 m/s | 1,785 kWh | $336 |
| November | 6.51 m/s | 1,928 kWh | $363 |
| December | 6.51 m/s | 1,992 kWh | $375 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Henry County averages 4.61 m/s; at 50 m it is 6.65 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.228, typical of ordinary open country. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 15,292 to 24,509 kWh a year, 60% 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 | 5.4 m/s | 15,292 kWh | 35 years |
| 30 m | 5.92 m/s | 19,104 kWh | 28 years |
| 40 m | 6.32 m/s | 22,078 kWh | 24 years |
| 50 m | 6.65 m/s | 24,509 kWh | 22 years |
Counties around Henry County
2 of the 6 closest counties are windier at turbine height; the windiest, Wood County, averages 5.93 m/s.
- Fulton County, OH: 5.92 m/s, 19,112 kWh, payback 28 years (19 mi)
- Putnam County, OH: 5.88 m/s, 18,816 kWh, payback 28 years (21 mi)
- Defiance County, OH: 5.92 m/s, 19,112 kWh, payback 28 years (22 mi)
- Wood County, OH: 5.93 m/s, 19,186 kWh, payback 28 years (23 mi)
- Paulding County, OH: 5.88 m/s, 18,816 kWh, payback 28 years (30 mi)
- Hancock County, OH: 5.93 m/s, 19,186 kWh, payback 28 years (31 mi)
Sun versus wind in Henry County
Henry County gets 3.86 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,127 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 1,911. This is one of the rare places where a kilowatt of turbine out-produces a kilowatt of panels, by 1.7 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.