Wind Turbine Payback in Logan County, WV
Wind turbine payback in Logan 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 Logan County, WV averages 3.25 m/s (7.3 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 3,402 kWh a year, worth $530 at WV's 15.58¢/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 Logan County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Logan County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 7.7 m/s at the hub against 3.25 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,183 kWh a year here against the turbine's 340, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 147¢/kWh, 9.4 times what WV pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 7.7 m/s instead of 3.25. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of WV
Logan County is the 2,816th windiest of 3,144 US counties at turbine height; the national middle is 4.79 m/s. The windiest in WV is Preston County at 3.73 m/s, payback over 100 years.
Month by month in Logan County
January is the strongest month here, at 3.89 m/s and about 513 kWh. August is the weakest, 2.43 m/s and 103 kWh, so the best month makes 5.0 times the worst. November to March brings in 61% of the year's output in Logan County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 3.89 m/s | 513 kWh | $80 |
| February | 3.99 m/s | 503 kWh | $78 |
| March | 3.87 m/s | 504 kWh | $79 |
| April | 3.77 m/s | 451 kWh | $70 |
| May | 3.09 m/s | 244 kWh | $38 |
| June | 2.73 m/s | 153 kWh | $24 |
| July | 2.52 m/s | 118 kWh | $18 |
| August | 2.43 m/s | 103 kWh | $16 |
| September | 2.68 m/s | 144 kWh | $22 |
| October | 3.11 m/s | 249 kWh | $39 |
| November | 3.38 m/s | 317 kWh | $49 |
| December | 3.61 m/s | 407 kWh | $63 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Logan County averages 1.97 m/s; at 50 m it is 4.1 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.455, typical of rough, sheltered ground: trees or buildings slow the low wind a lot. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 1,802 to 7,090 kWh a year, 293% 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 | 2.7 m/s | 1,802 kWh | over 100 years |
| 30 m | 3.25 m/s | 3,401 kWh | over 100 years |
| 40 m | 3.7 m/s | 5,183 kWh | over 100 years |
| 50 m | 4.1 m/s | 7,090 kWh | 91 years |
Counties around Logan County
2 of the 6 closest counties are windier at turbine height; the windiest, Wyoming County, averages 3.53 m/s.
- Mingo County, WV: 3.3 m/s, 3,577 kWh, payback over 100 years (14 mi)
- Boone County, WV: 3.25 m/s, 3,402 kWh, payback over 100 years (18 mi)
- Lincoln County, WV: 3.25 m/s, 3,402 kWh, payback over 100 years (25 mi)
- Wyoming County, WV: 3.53 m/s, 4,449 kWh, payback over 100 years (27 mi)
- Martin County, KY: 3.14 m/s, 3,034 kWh, payback over 100 years (31 mi)
- Wayne County, WV: 3.14 m/s, 3,034 kWh, payback over 100 years (34 mi)
Sun versus wind in Logan County
Logan County gets 4.05 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,183 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 340. Kilowatt for kilowatt, panels make 3.5 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.