Wind Turbine Payback in Nicholas County, WV
Wind turbine payback in Nicholas 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 Nicholas County, WV averages 3.56 m/s (8 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 4,570 kWh a year, worth $712 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 Nicholas County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Nicholas County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 7.7 m/s at the hub against 3.56 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,136 kWh a year here against the turbine's 457, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 109¢/kWh, 7.0 times what WV pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 7.7 m/s instead of 3.56. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of WV
Nicholas County is the 2,451st 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 Nicholas County
January is the strongest month here, at 4.35 m/s and about 720 kWh. August is the weakest, 2.60 m/s and 133 kWh, so the best month makes 5.4 times the worst. November to March brings in 62% of the year's output in Nicholas County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 4.35 m/s | 720 kWh | $112 |
| February | 4.48 m/s | 708 kWh | $110 |
| March | 4.27 m/s | 682 kWh | $106 |
| April | 4.14 m/s | 599 kWh | $93 |
| May | 3.34 m/s | 316 kWh | $49 |
| June | 2.94 m/s | 199 kWh | $31 |
| July | 2.67 m/s | 148 kWh | $23 |
| August | 2.60 m/s | 133 kWh | $21 |
| September | 2.87 m/s | 183 kWh | $29 |
| October | 3.37 m/s | 324 kWh | $50 |
| November | 3.69 m/s | 420 kWh | $65 |
| December | 4.04 m/s | 576 kWh | $90 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Nicholas County averages 2.22 m/s; at 50 m it is 4.43 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.429, typical of rough, sheltered ground: trees or buildings slow the low wind a lot. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 2,572 to 8,924 kWh a year, 247% 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 | 2.99 m/s | 2,572 kWh | over 100 years |
| 30 m | 3.56 m/s | 4,563 kWh | over 100 years |
| 40 m | 4.03 m/s | 6,707 kWh | 96 years |
| 50 m | 4.43 m/s | 8,924 kWh | 72 years |
Counties around Nicholas County
1 of the 6 closest counties is windier at turbine height; the windiest, Greenbrier County, averages 3.57 m/s.
- Clay County, WV: 3.28 m/s, 3,506 kWh, payback over 100 years (19 mi)
- Webster County, WV: 3.56 m/s, 4,570 kWh, payback over 100 years (23 mi)
- Fayette County, WV: 3.4 m/s, 3,942 kWh, payback over 100 years (24 mi)
- Braxton County, WV: 3.56 m/s, 4,570 kWh, payback over 100 years (28 mi)
- Greenbrier County, WV: 3.57 m/s, 4,612 kWh, payback over 100 years (32 mi)
- Kanawha County, WV: 3.28 m/s, 3,506 kWh, payback over 100 years (39 mi)
Sun versus wind in Nicholas County
Nicholas 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 457. 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.