Wind Turbine Payback in Jackson County, KY
Wind turbine payback in Jackson 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 Jackson County, KY averages 3.4 m/s (7.6 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 3,942 kWh a year, worth $560 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 Jackson County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Jackson County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 8.2 m/s at the hub against 3.4 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,206 kWh a year here against the turbine's 394, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 127¢/kWh, 8.9 times what KY pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 8.2 m/s instead of 3.4. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of KY
Jackson County is the 2,625th 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 Jackson County
March is the strongest month here, at 4.04 m/s and about 574 kWh. August is the weakest, 2.55 m/s and 124 kWh, so the best month makes 4.6 times the worst. November to March brings in 59% of the year's output in Jackson County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 4.01 m/s | 564 kWh | $80 |
| February | 4.10 m/s | 544 kWh | $77 |
| March | 4.04 m/s | 574 kWh | $82 |
| April | 3.96 m/s | 522 kWh | $74 |
| May | 3.26 m/s | 292 kWh | $41 |
| June | 2.87 m/s | 185 kWh | $26 |
| July | 2.63 m/s | 140 kWh | $20 |
| August | 2.55 m/s | 124 kWh | $18 |
| September | 2.84 m/s | 177 kWh | $25 |
| October | 3.32 m/s | 308 kWh | $44 |
| November | 3.57 m/s | 379 kWh | $54 |
| December | 3.76 m/s | 460 kWh | $65 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Jackson County averages 2.11 m/s; at 50 m it is 4.25 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.435, typical of rough, sheltered ground: trees or buildings slow the low wind a lot. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 2,186 to 7,897 kWh a year, 261% 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 | 2.85 m/s | 2,186 kWh | over 100 years |
| 30 m | 3.4 m/s | 3,954 kWh | over 100 years |
| 40 m | 3.86 m/s | 5,879 kWh | over 100 years |
| 50 m | 4.25 m/s | 7,897 kWh | 89 years |
Counties around Jackson County
1 of the 6 closest counties is windier at turbine height; the windiest, Rockcastle County, averages 4.1 m/s.
- Rockcastle County, KY: 4.1 m/s, 7,090 kWh, payback 99 years (16 mi)
- Owsley County, KY: 3.4 m/s, 3,942 kWh, payback over 100 years (18 mi)
- Estill County, KY: 3.4 m/s, 3,942 kWh, payback over 100 years (20 mi)
- Laurel County, KY: 3.33 m/s, 3,684 kWh, payback over 100 years (21 mi)
- Lee County, KY: 3.4 m/s, 3,942 kWh, payback over 100 years (22 mi)
- Clay County, KY: 3.36 m/s, 3,794 kWh, payback over 100 years (24 mi)
Sun versus wind in Jackson County
Jackson County gets 4.13 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,206 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 394. Kilowatt for kilowatt, panels make 3.1 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.