Wind Turbine Payback in Marion County, WV
Wind turbine payback in Marion 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 Marion County, WV averages 3.5 m/s (7.8 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 4,329 kWh a year, worth $674 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 Marion County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Marion County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 7.7 m/s at the hub against 3.5 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,124 kWh a year here against the turbine's 433, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 116¢/kWh, 7.4 times what WV pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 7.7 m/s instead of 3.5. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of WV
Marion County is the 2,507th 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 Marion County
January is the strongest month here, at 4.35 m/s and about 717 kWh. August is the weakest, 2.57 m/s and 128 kWh, so the best month makes 5.6 times the worst. November to March brings in 62% of the year's output in Marion County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 4.35 m/s | 717 kWh | $112 |
| February | 4.40 m/s | 672 kWh | $105 |
| March | 4.11 m/s | 605 kWh | $94 |
| April | 4.00 m/s | 539 kWh | $84 |
| May | 3.24 m/s | 285 kWh | $44 |
| June | 2.90 m/s | 190 kWh | $30 |
| July | 2.66 m/s | 145 kWh | $23 |
| August | 2.57 m/s | 128 kWh | $20 |
| September | 2.86 m/s | 181 kWh | $28 |
| October | 3.32 m/s | 311 kWh | $48 |
| November | 3.64 m/s | 405 kWh | $63 |
| December | 3.99 m/s | 553 kWh | $86 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Marion County averages 2.16 m/s; at 50 m it is 4.38 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.439, typical of rough, sheltered ground: trees or buildings slow the low wind a lot. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 2,397 to 8,632 kWh a year, 260% 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 | 2.93 m/s | 2,397 kWh | over 100 years |
| 30 m | 3.5 m/s | 4,329 kWh | over 100 years |
| 40 m | 3.97 m/s | 6,434 kWh | 100 years |
| 50 m | 4.38 m/s | 8,632 kWh | 74 years |
Counties around Marion County
1 of the 6 closest counties is windier at turbine height; the windiest, Barbour County, averages 3.61 m/s.
- Monongalia County, WV: 3.5 m/s, 4,329 kWh, payback over 100 years (13 mi)
- Taylor County, WV: 3.5 m/s, 4,329 kWh, payback over 100 years (16 mi)
- Harrison County, WV: 3.29 m/s, 3,541 kWh, payback over 100 years (17 mi)
- Wetzel County, WV: 3.29 m/s, 3,541 kWh, payback over 100 years (22 mi)
- Greene County, PA: 3.45 m/s, 4,133 kWh, payback over 100 years (24 mi)
- Barbour County, WV: 3.61 m/s, 4,778 kWh, payback over 100 years (29 mi)
Sun versus wind in Marion County
Marion County gets 3.85 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,124 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 433. Kilowatt for kilowatt, panels make 2.6 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.