Wind Turbine Payback in Pendleton County, WV
Wind turbine payback in Pendleton 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 Pendleton County, WV averages 3.69 m/s (8.3 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 5,121 kWh a year, worth $798 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 Pendleton County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Pendleton County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 7.7 m/s at the hub against 3.69 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,168 kWh a year here against the turbine's 512, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 98¢/kWh, 6.3 times what WV pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 7.7 m/s instead of 3.69. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of WV
Pendleton County is the 2,300th 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 Pendleton County
January is the strongest month here, at 4.65 m/s and about 871 kWh. August is the weakest, 2.59 m/s and 130 kWh, so the best month makes 6.7 times the worst. November to March brings in 64% of the year's output in Pendleton County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 4.65 m/s | 871 kWh | $136 |
| February | 4.70 m/s | 810 kWh | $126 |
| March | 4.45 m/s | 765 kWh | $119 |
| April | 4.24 m/s | 645 kWh | $100 |
| May | 3.39 m/s | 333 kWh | $52 |
| June | 3.06 m/s | 228 kWh | $36 |
| July | 2.74 m/s | 161 kWh | $25 |
| August | 2.59 m/s | 130 kWh | $20 |
| September | 2.86 m/s | 182 kWh | $28 |
| October | 3.48 m/s | 362 kWh | $56 |
| November | 3.91 m/s | 503 kWh | $78 |
| December | 4.22 m/s | 659 kWh | $103 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Pendleton County averages 2.38 m/s; at 50 m it is 4.52 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.399, typical of rough, sheltered ground: trees or buildings slow the low wind a lot. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 3,021 to 9,459 kWh a year, 213% 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 | 3.14 m/s | 3,021 kWh | over 100 years |
| 30 m | 3.69 m/s | 5,106 kWh | over 100 years |
| 40 m | 4.13 m/s | 7,274 kWh | 88 years |
| 50 m | 4.52 m/s | 9,459 kWh | 68 years |
Counties around Pendleton County
2 of the 6 closest counties are windier at turbine height; the windiest, Rockingham County, averages 3.76 m/s.
- Highland County, VA: 3.69 m/s, 5,121 kWh, payback over 100 years (24 mi)
- Rockingham County, VA: 3.76 m/s, 5,432 kWh, payback over 100 years (27 mi)
- Randolph County, WV: 3.61 m/s, 4,778 kWh, payback over 100 years (29 mi)
- Harrisonburg city, VA: 3.76 m/s, 5,432 kWh, payback over 100 years (30 mi)
- Grant County, WV: 3.65 m/s, 4,948 kWh, payback over 100 years (31 mi)
- Tucker County, WV: 3.65 m/s, 4,948 kWh, payback over 100 years (32 mi)
Sun versus wind in Pendleton County
Pendleton County gets 4 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,168 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 512. Kilowatt for kilowatt, panels make 2.3 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.