Wind Turbine Payback in Warren County, IN
Wind turbine payback in Warren 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 Warren County, IN averages 5.99 m/s (13.4 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 19,630 kWh a year, worth $3,345 at IN's 17.04¢/kWh. Against an installed cost of about $100,000, that is a payback of 30 years, and the turbine is built to last about 20.
What to do in Warren County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Warren County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 7.3 m/s at the hub against 5.99 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,165 kWh a year here against the turbine's 1,963, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 25¢/kWh, 1.5 times what IN pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 7.3 m/s instead of 5.99. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of IN
Warren County is the 858th windiest of 3,144 US counties at turbine height; the national middle is 4.79 m/s. The windiest in IN is Lake County at 6.17 m/s, payback 28 years.
Month by month in Warren County
April is the strongest month here, at 6.99 m/s and about 2,215 kWh. August is the weakest, 4.52 m/s and 804 kWh, so the best month makes 2.8 times the worst. November to March brings in 51% of the year's output in Warren County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 6.70 m/s | 2,114 kWh | $360 |
| February | 6.64 m/s | 1,874 kWh | $319 |
| March | 6.65 m/s | 2,081 kWh | $355 |
| April | 6.99 m/s | 2,215 kWh | $377 |
| May | 6.07 m/s | 1,718 kWh | $293 |
| June | 5.22 m/s | 1,152 kWh | $196 |
| July | 4.52 m/s | 804 kWh | $137 |
| August | 4.52 m/s | 804 kWh | $137 |
| September | 5.16 m/s | 1,122 kWh | $191 |
| October | 6.25 m/s | 1,830 kWh | $312 |
| November | 6.70 m/s | 2,046 kWh | $349 |
| December | 6.54 m/s | 2,014 kWh | $343 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Warren County averages 4.66 m/s; at 50 m it is 6.73 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.228, typical of ordinary open country. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 15,757 to 25,093 kWh a year, 59% 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 | 5.46 m/s | 15,757 kWh | 37 years |
| 30 m | 5.99 m/s | 19,631 kWh | 30 years |
| 40 m | 6.4 m/s | 22,641 kWh | 26 years |
| 50 m | 6.73 m/s | 25,093 kWh | 23 years |
Counties around Warren County
None of the 6 closest counties is windier than Warren County.
- Benton County, IN: 5.99 m/s, 19,630 kWh, payback 30 years (17 mi)
- Fountain County, IN: 5.9 m/s, 18,964 kWh, payback 31 years (18 mi)
- Vermilion County, IL: 5.9 m/s, 18,964 kWh, payback 27 years (22 mi)
- Tippecanoe County, IN: 5.97 m/s, 19,482 kWh, payback 30 years (25 mi)
- Montgomery County, IN: 5.84 m/s, 18,521 kWh, payback 32 years (33 mi)
- Vermillion County, IN: 5.9 m/s, 18,964 kWh, payback 31 years (35 mi)
Sun versus wind in Warren County
Warren County gets 3.99 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,165 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 1,963. This is one of the rare places where a kilowatt of turbine out-produces a kilowatt of panels, by 1.7 times. 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.