Wind Turbine Payback in Preston County, WV
Wind turbine payback in Preston 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 Preston County, WV averages 3.73 m/s (8.3 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 5,297 kWh a year, worth $825 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 Preston County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Preston County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 7.7 m/s at the hub against 3.73 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,107 kWh a year here against the turbine's 530, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 94¢/kWh, 6.1 times what WV pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 7.7 m/s instead of 3.73. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of WV
Preston County is the 2,261st windiest of 3,144 US counties at turbine height; the national middle is 4.79 m/s. It is the windiest county in WV.
Month by month in Preston County
January is the strongest month here, at 4.86 m/s and about 983 kWh. August is the weakest, 2.61 m/s and 135 kWh, so the best month makes 7.3 times the worst. November to March brings in 66% of the year's output in Preston County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 4.86 m/s | 983 kWh | $153 |
| February | 4.89 m/s | 904 kWh | $141 |
| March | 4.49 m/s | 789 kWh | $123 |
| April | 4.23 m/s | 642 kWh | $100 |
| May | 3.40 m/s | 333 kWh | $52 |
| June | 3.02 m/s | 220 kWh | $34 |
| July | 2.73 m/s | 160 kWh | $25 |
| August | 2.61 m/s | 135 kWh | $21 |
| September | 2.90 m/s | 189 kWh | $29 |
| October | 3.48 m/s | 362 kWh | $56 |
| November | 3.88 m/s | 492 kWh | $77 |
| December | 4.39 m/s | 737 kWh | $115 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Preston County averages 2.35 m/s; at 50 m it is 4.63 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.421, typical of rough, sheltered ground: trees or buildings slow the low wind a lot. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 3,060 to 10,132 kWh a year, 231% 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 | 3.15 m/s | 3,060 kWh | over 100 years |
| 30 m | 3.73 m/s | 5,315 kWh | over 100 years |
| 40 m | 4.21 m/s | 7,704 kWh | 83 years |
| 50 m | 4.63 m/s | 10,132 kWh | 63 years |
Counties around Preston County
None of the 6 closest counties is windier than Preston County.
- Garrett County, MD: 3.73 m/s, 5,297 kWh, payback 89 years (22 mi)
- Taylor County, WV: 3.5 m/s, 4,329 kWh, payback over 100 years (22 mi)
- Monongalia County, WV: 3.5 m/s, 4,329 kWh, payback over 100 years (24 mi)
- Tucker County, WV: 3.65 m/s, 4,948 kWh, payback over 100 years (25 mi)
- Barbour County, WV: 3.61 m/s, 4,778 kWh, payback over 100 years (29 mi)
- Marion County, WV: 3.5 m/s, 4,329 kWh, payback over 100 years (31 mi)
Sun versus wind in Preston County
Preston County gets 3.79 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,107 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 530. Kilowatt for kilowatt, panels make 2.1 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.