Wind Turbine Payback in Burke County, GA
Wind turbine payback in Burke 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 Burke County, GA averages 4.77 m/s (10.7 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 11,018 kWh a year, worth $1,706 at GA's 15.48¢/kWh. Against an installed cost of about $100,000, that is a payback of 59 years, and the turbine is built to last about 20.
What to do in Burke County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Burke County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 7.8 m/s at the hub against 4.77 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,349 kWh a year here against the turbine's 1,102, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 45¢/kWh, 2.9 times what GA pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 7.8 m/s instead of 4.77. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of GA
Burke County is the 1,576th 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 Burke County
March is the strongest month here, at 5.55 m/s and about 1,392 kWh. August is the weakest, 3.70 m/s and 438 kWh, so the best month makes 3.2 times the worst. November to March brings in 52% of the year's output in Burke County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 5.33 m/s | 1,259 kWh | $195 |
| February | 5.37 m/s | 1,161 kWh | $180 |
| March | 5.55 m/s | 1,392 kWh | $215 |
| April | 5.44 m/s | 1,280 kWh | $198 |
| May | 4.76 m/s | 932 kWh | $144 |
| June | 4.11 m/s | 587 kWh | $91 |
| July | 3.90 m/s | 517 kWh | $80 |
| August | 3.70 m/s | 438 kWh | $68 |
| September | 4.43 m/s | 735 kWh | $114 |
| October | 4.71 m/s | 904 kWh | $140 |
| November | 4.98 m/s | 1,020 kWh | $158 |
| December | 5.05 m/s | 1,094 kWh | $169 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Burke County averages 3.56 m/s; at 50 m it is 5.47 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.267, typical of ordinary open country. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 8,080 to 15,821 kWh a year, 96% 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 | 4.28 m/s | 8,080 kWh | 80 years |
| 30 m | 4.77 m/s | 11,035 kWh | 59 years |
| 40 m | 5.15 m/s | 13,585 kWh | 48 years |
| 50 m | 5.47 m/s | 15,821 kWh | 41 years |
Counties around Burke County
1 of the 6 closest counties is windier at turbine height; the windiest, Emanuel County, averages 4.79 m/s.
- Jenkins County, GA: 4.77 m/s, 11,018 kWh, payback 59 years (18 mi)
- Richmond County, GA: 4.27 m/s, 8,008 kWh, payback 81 years (21 mi)
- Jefferson County, GA: 4.34 m/s, 8,403 kWh, payback 77 years (24 mi)
- Screven County, GA: 4.67 m/s, 10,382 kWh, payback 62 years (31 mi)
- Barnwell County, SC: 4.59 m/s, 9,885 kWh, payback 64 years (36 mi)
- Emanuel County, GA: 4.79 m/s, 11,147 kWh, payback 58 years (37 mi)
Sun versus wind in Burke County
Burke County gets 4.62 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,349 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 1,102. Kilowatt for kilowatt, panels make 1.2 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.