Can the cheaper wind turbine have the higher cost per useful kWh?

The short answer

Yes. A lower equipment price may be offset by lower useful generation, greater installation expense, maintenance or replacements. Use a common cost scope, analysis period and energy boundary. For on-site projects, energy that is curtailed or cannot serve the intended purpose should not be treated as equally valuable delivered energy. Keep a simple cost-per-kWh screen separate from a discounted financial analysis.

Choose a common comparison boundary

Include the turbine, tower, foundations, conversion, electrical work and other costs required for the compared scope. Decide which operating expenses and replacement events are included. Apply the same treatment to both proposals.

Use useful energy consistently. One figure might describe AC generation before export limits, while another describes energy accepted by the load. Those are not directly comparable denominators. If exports have a different value, show their economics separately rather than forcing every kWh into one category.

Compare two hypothetical whole-project cases

Undiscounted arithmetic over an assumed common period:

Case	Total included cost	Total useful energy	Simple ratio
A	30,000	100,000 kWh	0.30/kWh
B	36,000	150,000 kWh	0.24/kWh

A costs less in total but costs more per useful kWh in this example. The figures are deliberately hypothetical, contain no MARSTON price or lifetime claim and exclude discounting.

Do not confuse a useful screen with a full investment result

The ratio can reveal a weak low-price argument, but it does not show the timing of costs or energy. A major replacement early in the period has a different financial effect from an equal expense much later. Energy prices and exports may also change over time.

Follow the screen with a consistent discounted model and sensitivity cases. Consider reliability, maintenance access and contractual responsibilities alongside the numerical result. The appropriate choice is the project that meets the required service and economics under defensible assumptions, not automatically the cheapest turbine assembly.