Wind Turbine Payback in Washington County, MD
Wind turbine payback in Washington 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 Washington County, MD averages 3.62 m/s (8.1 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 4,820 kWh a year, worth $1,027 at MD's 21.31¢/kWh. Against an installed cost of about $100,000, that is a payback of 97 years, and the turbine is built to last about 20.
What to do in Washington County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Washington County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 6.5 m/s at the hub against 3.62 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,162 kWh a year here against the turbine's 482, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 104¢/kWh, 4.9 times what MD pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 6.5 m/s instead of 3.62. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of MD
Washington County is the 2,367th windiest of 3,144 US counties at turbine height; the national middle is 4.79 m/s. The windiest in MD is Worcester County at 7.01 m/s, payback 17 years.
Month by month in Washington County
March is the strongest month here, at 4.36 m/s and about 725 kWh. August is the weakest, 2.72 m/s and 157 kWh, so the best month makes 4.6 times the worst. November to March brings in 60% of the year's output in Washington County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 4.32 m/s | 706 kWh | $150 |
| February | 4.43 m/s | 685 kWh | $146 |
| March | 4.36 m/s | 725 kWh | $154 |
| April | 4.13 m/s | 597 kWh | $127 |
| May | 3.39 m/s | 333 kWh | $71 |
| June | 3.06 m/s | 228 kWh | $49 |
| July | 2.79 m/s | 173 kWh | $37 |
| August | 2.72 m/s | 157 kWh | $33 |
| September | 3.03 m/s | 222 kWh | $47 |
| October | 3.51 m/s | 371 kWh | $79 |
| November | 3.77 m/s | 451 kWh | $96 |
| December | 3.94 m/s | 532 kWh | $113 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Washington County averages 2.37 m/s; at 50 m it is 4.4 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.384, typical of rough, sheltered ground: trees or buildings slow the low wind a lot. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 2,890 to 8,748 kWh a year, 203% 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 | 3.09 m/s | 2,890 kWh | over 100 years |
| 30 m | 3.62 m/s | 4,804 kWh | 98 years |
| 40 m | 4.04 m/s | 6,773 kWh | 69 years |
| 50 m | 4.4 m/s | 8,748 kWh | 54 years |
Counties around Washington County
2 of the 6 closest counties are windier at turbine height; the windiest, Frederick County, averages 4.56 m/s.
- Berkeley County, WV: 3.62 m/s, 4,820 kWh, payback over 100 years (16 mi)
- Jefferson County, WV: 3.62 m/s, 4,820 kWh, payback over 100 years (21 mi)
- Franklin County, PA: 3.99 m/s, 6,527 kWh, payback 73 years (23 mi)
- Morgan County, WV: 3.62 m/s, 4,820 kWh, payback over 100 years (24 mi)
- Frederick County, MD: 4.56 m/s, 9,702 kWh, payback 48 years (24 mi)
- Fulton County, PA: 3.45 m/s, 4,133 kWh, payback over 100 years (27 mi)
Sun versus wind in Washington County
Washington County gets 3.98 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,162 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 482. Kilowatt for kilowatt, panels make 2.4 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.