Wind Turbine Payback in Trumbull County, OH
Wind turbine payback in Trumbull 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 Trumbull County, OH averages 3.74 m/s (8.4 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 5,342 kWh a year, worth $1,005 at OH's 18.81¢/kWh. Against an installed cost of about $100,000, that is a payback of 100 years, and the turbine is built to last about 20.
What to do in Trumbull County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Trumbull County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 6.9 m/s at the hub against 3.74 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,060 kWh a year here against the turbine's 534, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 94¢/kWh, 5.0 times what OH pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 6.9 m/s instead of 3.74. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of OH
Trumbull County is the 2,255th windiest of 3,144 US counties at turbine height; the national middle is 4.79 m/s. The windiest in OH is Lake County at 6.53 m/s, payback 23 years.
Month by month in Trumbull County
January is the strongest month here, at 4.62 m/s and about 855 kWh. August is the weakest, 2.91 m/s and 200 kWh, so the best month makes 4.3 times the worst. November to March brings in 60% of the year's output in Trumbull County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 4.62 m/s | 855 kWh | $161 |
| February | 4.58 m/s | 753 kWh | $142 |
| March | 4.27 m/s | 680 kWh | $128 |
| April | 4.10 m/s | 583 kWh | $110 |
| May | 3.43 m/s | 343 kWh | $65 |
| June | 3.17 m/s | 256 kWh | $48 |
| July | 2.91 m/s | 200 kWh | $38 |
| August | 2.91 m/s | 200 kWh | $38 |
| September | 3.15 m/s | 252 kWh | $47 |
| October | 3.67 m/s | 427 kWh | $80 |
| November | 3.95 m/s | 522 kWh | $98 |
| December | 4.21 m/s | 650 kWh | $122 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Trumbull County averages 2.39 m/s; at 50 m it is 4.61 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.408, typical of rough, sheltered ground: trees or buildings slow the low wind a lot. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 3,139 to 10,008 kWh a year, 219% 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 | 3.17 m/s | 3,139 kWh | over 100 years |
| 30 m | 3.74 m/s | 5,354 kWh | 99 years |
| 40 m | 4.21 m/s | 7,671 kWh | 69 years |
| 50 m | 4.61 m/s | 10,008 kWh | 53 years |
Counties around Trumbull County
2 of the 6 closest counties are windier at turbine height; the windiest, Geauga County, averages 4.45 m/s.
- Mahoning County, OH: 3.55 m/s, 4,530 kWh, payback over 100 years (20 mi)
- Portage County, OH: 4.24 m/s, 7,842 kWh, payback 68 years (24 mi)
- Geauga County, OH: 4.45 m/s, 9,041 kWh, payback 59 years (25 mi)
- Mercer County, PA: 3.66 m/s, 4,991 kWh, payback 95 years (27 mi)
- Lawrence County, PA: 3.55 m/s, 4,530 kWh, payback over 100 years (31 mi)
- Columbiana County, OH: 3.55 m/s, 4,530 kWh, payback over 100 years (37 mi)
Sun versus wind in Trumbull County
Trumbull County gets 3.63 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,060 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 534. Kilowatt for kilowatt, panels make 2.0 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.