Wind Turbine Payback in Carteret County, NC
Wind turbine payback in Carteret 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 Carteret County, NC averages 6.24 m/s (14 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 21,484 kWh a year, worth $3,210 at NC's 14.94¢/kWh. Against an installed cost of about $100,000, that is a payback of 31 years, and the turbine is built to last about 20.
What to do in Carteret County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Carteret County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 7.9 m/s at the hub against 6.24 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,299 kWh a year here against the turbine's 2,148, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 23¢/kWh, 1.6 times what NC pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 7.9 m/s instead of 6.24. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of NC
Carteret County is the 541st windiest of 3,144 US counties at turbine height; the national middle is 4.79 m/s. The windiest in NC is Dare County at 6.91 m/s, payback 25 years.
Month by month in Carteret County
March is the strongest month here, at 7.04 m/s and about 2,320 kWh. August is the weakest, 5.00 m/s and 1,062 kWh, so the best month makes 2.2 times the worst. November to March brings in 50% of the year's output in Carteret County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 6.97 m/s | 2,280 kWh | $341 |
| February | 7.13 m/s | 2,147 kWh | $321 |
| March | 7.04 m/s | 2,320 kWh | $347 |
| April | 6.95 m/s | 2,196 kWh | $328 |
| May | 6.05 m/s | 1,708 kWh | $255 |
| June | 5.54 m/s | 1,341 kWh | $200 |
| July | 5.51 m/s | 1,369 kWh | $205 |
| August | 5.00 m/s | 1,062 kWh | $159 |
| September | 5.80 m/s | 1,499 kWh | $224 |
| October | 5.89 m/s | 1,602 kWh | $239 |
| November | 6.41 m/s | 1,869 kWh | $279 |
| December | 6.68 m/s | 2,102 kWh | $314 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Carteret County averages 5.43 m/s; at 50 m it is 6.66 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.127, typical of very open, smooth ground where height adds little. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 19,174 to 24,582 kWh a year, 28% 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 | 5.93 m/s | 19,174 kWh | 35 years |
| 30 m | 6.24 m/s | 21,496 kWh | 31 years |
| 40 m | 6.47 m/s | 23,215 kWh | 29 years |
| 50 m | 6.66 m/s | 24,582 kWh | 27 years |
Counties around Carteret County
None of the 6 closest counties is windier than Carteret County.
- Pamlico County, NC: 4.81 m/s, 11,276 kWh, payback 59 years (21 mi)
- Craven County, NC: 4.81 m/s, 11,276 kWh, payback 59 years (36 mi)
- Hyde County, NC: 5.79 m/s, 18,153 kWh, payback 37 years (44 mi)
- Beaufort County, NC: 4.7 m/s, 10,571 kWh, payback 63 years (46 mi)
- Jones County, NC: 4.79 m/s, 11,147 kWh, payback 60 years (48 mi)
- Onslow County, NC: 4.79 m/s, 11,147 kWh, payback 60 years (55 mi)
Sun versus wind in Carteret County
Carteret County gets 4.45 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,299 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 2,148. This is one of the rare places where a kilowatt of turbine out-produces a kilowatt of panels, by 1.7 times. 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.