Wind Turbine Payback in Anderson County, SC
Wind turbine payback in Anderson 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 Anderson County, SC averages 3.24 m/s (7.2 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 3,367 kWh a year, worth $535 at SC's 15.9¢/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 Anderson County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Anderson County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 7.6 m/s at the hub against 3.24 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,340 kWh a year here against the turbine's 337, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 149¢/kWh, 9.3 times what SC pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 7.6 m/s instead of 3.24. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of SC
Anderson County is the 2,831st windiest of 3,144 US counties at turbine height; the national middle is 4.79 m/s. The windiest in SC is Beaufort County at 5.71 m/s, payback 36 years.
Month by month in Anderson County
March is the strongest month here, at 3.75 m/s and about 458 kWh. August is the weakest, 2.50 m/s and 115 kWh, so the best month makes 4.0 times the worst. November to March brings in 53% of the year's output in Anderson County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 3.55 m/s | 384 kWh | $61 |
| February | 3.68 m/s | 389 kWh | $62 |
| March | 3.75 m/s | 458 kWh | $73 |
| April | 3.75 m/s | 443 kWh | $70 |
| May | 3.21 m/s | 276 kWh | $44 |
| June | 2.77 m/s | 163 kWh | $26 |
| July | 2.57 m/s | 127 kWh | $20 |
| August | 2.50 m/s | 115 kWh | $18 |
| September | 3.07 m/s | 230 kWh | $37 |
| October | 3.27 m/s | 295 kWh | $47 |
| November | 3.38 m/s | 319 kWh | $51 |
| December | 3.36 m/s | 322 kWh | $51 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Anderson County averages 2.09 m/s; at 50 m it is 3.97 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.399, typical of rough, sheltered ground: trees or buildings slow the low wind a lot. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 1,930 to 6,428 kWh a year, 233% 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 | 2.75 m/s | 1,930 kWh | over 100 years |
| 30 m | 3.24 m/s | 3,360 kWh | over 100 years |
| 40 m | 3.63 m/s | 4,870 kWh | over 100 years |
| 50 m | 3.97 m/s | 6,428 kWh | 98 years |
Counties around Anderson County
2 of the 6 closest counties are windier at turbine height; the windiest, Pickens County, averages 3.48 m/s.
- Hart County, GA: 2.95 m/s, 2,455 kWh, payback over 100 years (22 mi)
- Abbeville County, SC: 3.08 m/s, 2,844 kWh, payback over 100 years (23 mi)
- Pickens County, SC: 3.48 m/s, 4,250 kWh, payback over 100 years (26 mi)
- Oconee County, SC: 2.95 m/s, 2,455 kWh, payback over 100 years (29 mi)
- Greenville County, SC: 3.48 m/s, 4,250 kWh, payback over 100 years (30 mi)
- Elbert County, GA: 2.95 m/s, 2,455 kWh, payback over 100 years (30 mi)
Sun versus wind in Anderson County
Anderson County gets 4.59 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,340 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 337. Kilowatt for kilowatt, panels make 4.0 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.