Wind Turbine Payback in Meade County, KY
Wind turbine payback in Meade 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 Meade County, KY averages 3.63 m/s (8.1 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 4,862 kWh a year, worth $690 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 Meade County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Meade County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 8.2 m/s at the hub against 3.63 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,215 kWh a year here against the turbine's 486, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 103¢/kWh, 7.2 times what KY pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 8.2 m/s instead of 3.63. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of KY
Meade County is the 2,354th 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 Meade County
March is the strongest month here, at 4.29 m/s and about 687 kWh. July is the weakest, 2.72 m/s and 156 kWh, so the best month makes 4.4 times the worst. November to March brings in 58% of the year's output in Meade County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 4.26 m/s | 676 kWh | $96 |
| February | 4.31 m/s | 631 kWh | $90 |
| March | 4.29 m/s | 687 kWh | $98 |
| April | 4.25 m/s | 647 kWh | $92 |
| May | 3.49 m/s | 364 kWh | $52 |
| June | 3.02 m/s | 219 kWh | $31 |
| July | 2.72 m/s | 156 kWh | $22 |
| August | 2.75 m/s | 163 kWh | $23 |
| September | 3.06 m/s | 229 kWh | $33 |
| October | 3.57 m/s | 392 kWh | $56 |
| November | 3.88 m/s | 490 kWh | $70 |
| December | 3.99 m/s | 554 kWh | $79 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Meade County averages 2.27 m/s; at 50 m it is 4.51 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.427, typical of rough, sheltered ground: trees or buildings slow the low wind a lot. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 2,750 to 9,399 kWh a year, 242% 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 | 3.05 m/s | 2,750 kWh | over 100 years |
| 30 m | 3.63 m/s | 4,846 kWh | over 100 years |
| 40 m | 4.1 m/s | 7,091 kWh | 99 years |
| 50 m | 4.51 m/s | 9,399 kWh | 75 years |
Counties around Meade County
4 of the 6 closest counties are windier at turbine height; the windiest, Bullitt County, averages 4.63 m/s.
- Harrison County, IN: 3.63 m/s, 4,862 kWh, payback over 100 years (16 mi)
- Breckinridge County, KY: 3.63 m/s, 4,862 kWh, payback over 100 years (18 mi)
- Hardin County, KY: 4.2 m/s, 7,623 kWh, payback 92 years (23 mi)
- Perry County, IN: 4.53 m/s, 9,519 kWh, payback 62 years (24 mi)
- Crawford County, IN: 4.21 m/s, 7,678 kWh, payback 76 years (26 mi)
- Bullitt County, KY: 4.63 m/s, 10,132 kWh, payback 70 years (27 mi)
Sun versus wind in Meade County
Meade County gets 4.16 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,215 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 486. Kilowatt for kilowatt, panels make 2.5 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.