Wind Turbine Payback in Summers County, WV
Wind turbine payback in Summers 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 Summers County, WV averages 3.34 m/s (7.5 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 3,720 kWh a year, worth $580 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 Summers County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Summers County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 7.7 m/s at the hub against 3.34 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,200 kWh a year here against the turbine's 372, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 134¢/kWh, 8.6 times what WV pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 7.7 m/s instead of 3.34. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of WV
Summers County is the 2,699th 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 Summers County
January is the strongest month here, at 4.17 m/s and about 633 kWh. August is the weakest, 2.36 m/s and 92 kWh, so the best month makes 6.9 times the worst. November to March brings in 64% of the year's output in Summers County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 4.17 m/s | 633 kWh | $99 |
| February | 4.26 m/s | 612 kWh | $95 |
| March | 4.06 m/s | 583 kWh | $91 |
| April | 3.87 m/s | 487 kWh | $76 |
| May | 3.12 m/s | 251 kWh | $39 |
| June | 2.74 m/s | 156 kWh | $24 |
| July | 2.49 m/s | 114 kWh | $18 |
| August | 2.36 m/s | 92 kWh | $14 |
| September | 2.65 m/s | 137 kWh | $21 |
| October | 3.17 m/s | 267 kWh | $42 |
| November | 3.48 m/s | 348 kWh | $54 |
| December | 3.78 m/s | 468 kWh | $73 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Summers County averages 2.05 m/s; at 50 m it is 4.19 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.444, typical of rough, sheltered ground: trees or buildings slow the low wind a lot. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 2,020 to 7,569 kWh a year, 275% 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 | 2.79 m/s | 2,020 kWh | over 100 years |
| 30 m | 3.34 m/s | 3,720 kWh | over 100 years |
| 40 m | 3.79 m/s | 5,590 kWh | over 100 years |
| 50 m | 4.19 m/s | 7,569 kWh | 85 years |
Counties around Summers County
4 of the 6 closest counties are windier at turbine height; the windiest, Greenbrier County, averages 3.57 m/s.
- Monroe County, WV: 3.34 m/s, 3,720 kWh, payback over 100 years (18 mi)
- Mercer County, WV: 3.53 m/s, 4,449 kWh, payback over 100 years (22 mi)
- Raleigh County, WV: 3.4 m/s, 3,942 kWh, payback over 100 years (24 mi)
- Giles County, VA: 3.34 m/s, 3,720 kWh, payback over 100 years (25 mi)
- Fayette County, WV: 3.4 m/s, 3,942 kWh, payback over 100 years (29 mi)
- Greenbrier County, WV: 3.57 m/s, 4,612 kWh, payback over 100 years (29 mi)
Sun versus wind in Summers County
Summers County gets 4.11 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,200 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 372. Kilowatt for kilowatt, panels make 3.2 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.