Wind Turbine Payback in Muskingum County, OH
Wind turbine payback in Muskingum 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 Muskingum County, OH averages 3.37 m/s (7.5 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 3,830 kWh a year, worth $721 at OH's 18.81¢/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 Muskingum County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Muskingum County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 6.9 m/s at the hub against 3.37 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,136 kWh a year here against the turbine's 383, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 131¢/kWh, 6.9 times what OH pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 6.9 m/s instead of 3.37. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of OH
Muskingum County is the 2,653rd windiest of 3,144 US counties at turbine height; the national middle is 4.79 m/s. The windiest in OH is Lake County at 6.53 m/s, payback 23 years.
Month by month in Muskingum County
January is the strongest month here, at 3.98 m/s and about 548 kWh. August is the weakest, 2.59 m/s and 131 kWh, so the best month makes 4.2 times the worst. November to March brings in 58% of the year's output in Muskingum County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 3.98 m/s | 548 kWh | $103 |
| February | 4.05 m/s | 523 kWh | $98 |
| March | 3.94 m/s | 531 kWh | $100 |
| April | 3.89 m/s | 495 kWh | $93 |
| May | 3.20 m/s | 273 kWh | $51 |
| June | 2.93 m/s | 198 kWh | $37 |
| July | 2.62 m/s | 136 kWh | $26 |
| August | 2.59 m/s | 131 kWh | $25 |
| September | 2.83 m/s | 175 kWh | $33 |
| October | 3.31 m/s | 306 kWh | $58 |
| November | 3.54 m/s | 368 kWh | $69 |
| December | 3.64 m/s | 417 kWh | $78 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Muskingum County averages 2.06 m/s; at 50 m it is 4.24 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.449, typical of rough, sheltered ground: trees or buildings slow the low wind a lot. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 2,072 to 7,842 kWh a year, 278% 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 | 2.81 m/s | 2,072 kWh | over 100 years |
| 30 m | 3.37 m/s | 3,834 kWh | over 100 years |
| 40 m | 3.84 m/s | 5,780 kWh | 92 years |
| 50 m | 4.24 m/s | 7,842 kWh | 68 years |
Counties around Muskingum County
5 of the 6 closest counties are windier at turbine height; the windiest, Licking County, averages 4.33 m/s.
- Perry County, OH: 3.94 m/s, 6,280 kWh, payback 85 years (22 mi)
- Coshocton County, OH: 4.14 m/s, 7,301 kWh, payback 73 years (23 mi)
- Morgan County, OH: 3.31 m/s, 3,612 kWh, payback over 100 years (24 mi)
- Guernsey County, OH: 3.38 m/s, 3,868 kWh, payback over 100 years (24 mi)
- Noble County, OH: 3.38 m/s, 3,868 kWh, payback over 100 years (29 mi)
- Licking County, OH: 4.33 m/s, 8,346 kWh, payback 64 years (30 mi)
Sun versus wind in Muskingum County
Muskingum County gets 3.89 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,136 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 383. Kilowatt for kilowatt, panels make 3.0 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.