Wind Turbine Payback in Barrow County, GA
Wind turbine payback in Barrow 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 Barrow County, GA averages 3.32 m/s (7.4 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 3,648 kWh a year, worth $565 at GA's 15.48¢/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 Barrow County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Barrow County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 7.8 m/s at the hub against 3.32 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,332 kWh a year here against the turbine's 365, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 137¢/kWh, 8.9 times what GA pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 7.8 m/s instead of 3.32. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of GA
Barrow County is the 2,715th windiest of 3,144 US counties at turbine height; the national middle is 4.79 m/s. The windiest in GA is Glynn County at 5.08 m/s, payback 49 years.
Month by month in Barrow County
March is the strongest month here, at 3.88 m/s and about 510 kWh. August is the weakest, 2.52 m/s and 118 kWh, so the best month makes 4.3 times the worst. November to March brings in 57% of the year's output in Barrow County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 3.79 m/s | 474 kWh | $73 |
| February | 3.82 m/s | 437 kWh | $68 |
| March | 3.88 m/s | 510 kWh | $79 |
| April | 3.77 m/s | 450 kWh | $70 |
| May | 3.26 m/s | 291 kWh | $45 |
| June | 2.77 m/s | 162 kWh | $25 |
| July | 2.59 m/s | 130 kWh | $20 |
| August | 2.52 m/s | 118 kWh | $18 |
| September | 3.00 m/s | 214 kWh | $33 |
| October | 3.30 m/s | 304 kWh | $47 |
| November | 3.51 m/s | 359 kWh | $56 |
| December | 3.59 m/s | 399 kWh | $62 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Barrow County averages 2.11 m/s; at 50 m it is 4.09 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.411, typical of rough, sheltered ground: trees or buildings slow the low wind a lot. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 2,064 to 7,038 kWh a year, 241% 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 | 2.81 m/s | 2,064 kWh | over 100 years |
| 30 m | 3.32 m/s | 3,632 kWh | over 100 years |
| 40 m | 3.73 m/s | 5,304 kWh | over 100 years |
| 50 m | 4.09 m/s | 7,038 kWh | 92 years |
Counties around Barrow County
None of the 6 closest counties is windier than Barrow County.
- Jackson County, GA: 3.32 m/s, 3,648 kWh, payback over 100 years (13 mi)
- Walton County, GA: 3.32 m/s, 3,648 kWh, payback over 100 years (14 mi)
- Gwinnett County, GA: 3.32 m/s, 3,648 kWh, payback over 100 years (18 mi)
- Oconee County, GA: 3.32 m/s, 3,648 kWh, payback over 100 years (19 mi)
- Clarke County, GA: 2.95 m/s, 2,455 kWh, payback over 100 years (20 mi)
- Hall County, GA: 3.12 m/s, 2,970 kWh, payback over 100 years (23 mi)
Sun versus wind in Barrow County
Barrow County gets 4.56 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,332 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 365. Kilowatt for kilowatt, panels make 3.6 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.