Wind Turbine Payback in Madison County, IN
Wind turbine payback in Madison 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 Madison County, IN averages 5.87 m/s (13.1 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 18,742 kWh a year, worth $3,194 at IN's 17.04¢/kWh. Against an installed cost of about $100,000, that is a payback of 31 years, and the turbine is built to last about 20.
What to do in Madison County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Madison County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 7.3 m/s at the hub against 5.87 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,150 kWh a year here against the turbine's 1,874, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 27¢/kWh, 1.6 times what IN pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 7.3 m/s instead of 5.87. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of IN
Madison County is the 1,026th 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 Madison County
January is the strongest month here, at 6.73 m/s and about 2,131 kWh. August is the weakest, 4.36 m/s and 723 kWh, so the best month makes 2.9 times the worst. November to March brings in 53% of the year's output in Madison County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 6.73 m/s | 2,131 kWh | $363 |
| February | 6.62 m/s | 1,865 kWh | $318 |
| March | 6.59 m/s | 2,043 kWh | $348 |
| April | 6.83 m/s | 2,120 kWh | $361 |
| May | 5.81 m/s | 1,552 kWh | $264 |
| June | 5.08 m/s | 1,074 kWh | $183 |
| July | 4.37 m/s | 727 kWh | $124 |
| August | 4.36 m/s | 723 kWh | $123 |
| September | 4.97 m/s | 1,015 kWh | $173 |
| October | 6.07 m/s | 1,719 kWh | $293 |
| November | 6.51 m/s | 1,928 kWh | $329 |
| December | 6.50 m/s | 1,987 kWh | $339 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Madison County averages 4.54 m/s; at 50 m it is 6.61 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.233, typical of ordinary open country. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 14,886 to 24,216 kWh a year, 63% 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 | 5.34 m/s | 14,886 kWh | 39 years |
| 30 m | 5.87 m/s | 18,730 kWh | 31 years |
| 40 m | 6.28 m/s | 21,744 kWh | 27 years |
| 50 m | 6.61 m/s | 24,216 kWh | 24 years |
Counties around Madison County
2 of the 6 closest counties are windier at turbine height; the windiest, Grant County, averages 5.98 m/s.
- Delaware County, IN: 5.87 m/s, 18,742 kWh, payback 31 years (18 mi)
- Hamilton County, IN: 5.8 m/s, 18,226 kWh, payback 32 years (18 mi)
- Tipton County, IN: 5.95 m/s, 19,334 kWh, payback 30 years (20 mi)
- Henry County, IN: 5.87 m/s, 18,742 kWh, payback 31 years (24 mi)
- Hancock County, IN: 5.87 m/s, 18,742 kWh, payback 31 years (24 mi)
- Grant County, IN: 5.98 m/s, 19,556 kWh, payback 30 years (24 mi)
Sun versus wind in Madison County
Madison County gets 3.94 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,150 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 1,874. This is one of the rare places where a kilowatt of turbine out-produces a kilowatt of panels, by 1.6 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.