Wind Turbine Payback in Raleigh County, WV
Wind turbine payback in Raleigh 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 Raleigh County, WV averages 3.4 m/s (7.6 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 3,942 kWh a year, worth $614 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 Raleigh County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Raleigh County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 7.7 m/s at the hub against 3.4 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,183 kWh a year here against the turbine's 394, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 127¢/kWh, 8.1 times what WV pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 7.7 m/s instead of 3.4. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of WV
Raleigh County is the 2,625th 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 Raleigh County
January is the strongest month here, at 4.12 m/s and about 613 kWh. August is the weakest, 2.51 m/s and 116 kWh, so the best month makes 5.3 times the worst. November to March brings in 62% of the year's output in Raleigh County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 4.12 m/s | 613 kWh | $96 |
| February | 4.25 m/s | 606 kWh | $94 |
| March | 4.10 m/s | 602 kWh | $94 |
| April | 3.96 m/s | 522 kWh | $81 |
| May | 3.20 m/s | 276 kWh | $43 |
| June | 2.80 m/s | 169 kWh | $26 |
| July | 2.58 m/s | 129 kWh | $20 |
| August | 2.51 m/s | 116 kWh | $18 |
| September | 2.77 m/s | 163 kWh | $25 |
| October | 3.24 m/s | 287 kWh | $45 |
| November | 3.53 m/s | 366 kWh | $57 |
| December | 3.85 m/s | 497 kWh | $77 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Raleigh County averages 2.1 m/s; at 50 m it is 4.26 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.439, typical of rough, sheltered ground: trees or buildings slow the low wind a lot. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 2,176 to 7,953 kWh a year, 265% 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 | 2.85 m/s | 2,176 kWh | over 100 years |
| 30 m | 3.4 m/s | 3,958 kWh | over 100 years |
| 40 m | 3.86 m/s | 5,906 kWh | over 100 years |
| 50 m | 4.26 m/s | 7,953 kWh | 81 years |
Counties around Raleigh County
2 of the 6 closest counties are windier at turbine height; the windiest, Wyoming County, averages 3.53 m/s.
- Wyoming County, WV: 3.53 m/s, 4,449 kWh, payback over 100 years (19 mi)
- Fayette County, WV: 3.4 m/s, 3,942 kWh, payback over 100 years (21 mi)
- Summers County, WV: 3.34 m/s, 3,720 kWh, payback over 100 years (24 mi)
- Mercer County, WV: 3.53 m/s, 4,449 kWh, payback over 100 years (26 mi)
- Boone County, WV: 3.25 m/s, 3,402 kWh, payback over 100 years (30 mi)
- McDowell County, WV: 3.3 m/s, 3,577 kWh, payback over 100 years (34 mi)
Sun versus wind in Raleigh County
Raleigh County gets 4.05 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,183 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 394. 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.