Wind Turbine Payback in Cherokee County, SC
Wind turbine payback in Cherokee 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 Cherokee County, SC averages 3.7 m/s (8.3 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 5,164 kWh a year, worth $821 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 Cherokee County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Cherokee County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 7.6 m/s at the hub against 3.7 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,296 kWh a year here against the turbine's 516, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 97¢/kWh, 6.1 times what SC pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 7.6 m/s instead of 3.7. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of SC
Cherokee County is the 2,288th 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 Cherokee County
April is the strongest month here, at 4.39 m/s and about 713 kWh. August is the weakest, 2.81 m/s and 176 kWh, so the best month makes 4.1 times the worst. November to March brings in 53% of the year's output in Cherokee County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 4.04 m/s | 576 kWh | $92 |
| February | 4.24 m/s | 600 kWh | $95 |
| March | 4.33 m/s | 708 kWh | $113 |
| April | 4.39 m/s | 713 kWh | $113 |
| May | 3.68 m/s | 429 kWh | $68 |
| June | 3.16 m/s | 254 kWh | $40 |
| July | 2.89 m/s | 193 kWh | $31 |
| August | 2.81 m/s | 176 kWh | $28 |
| September | 3.48 m/s | 349 kWh | $55 |
| October | 3.72 m/s | 445 kWh | $71 |
| November | 3.87 m/s | 489 kWh | $78 |
| December | 3.84 m/s | 491 kWh | $78 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Cherokee County averages 2.6 m/s; at 50 m it is 4.36 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.321, typical of rough, sheltered ground: trees or buildings slow the low wind a lot. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 3,398 to 8,517 kWh a year, 151% 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 | 3.25 m/s | 3,398 kWh | over 100 years |
| 30 m | 3.7 m/s | 5,167 kWh | over 100 years |
| 40 m | 4.06 m/s | 6,875 kWh | 92 years |
| 50 m | 4.36 m/s | 8,517 kWh | 74 years |
Counties around Cherokee County
2 of the 6 closest counties are windier at turbine height; the windiest, Cleveland County, averages 4.22 m/s.
- Cleveland County, NC: 4.22 m/s, 7,732 kWh, payback 87 years (20 mi)
- Spartanburg County, SC: 3.7 m/s, 5,164 kWh, payback over 100 years (23 mi)
- York County, SC: 3.65 m/s, 4,948 kWh, payback over 100 years (25 mi)
- Union County, SC: 3.16 m/s, 3,099 kWh, payback over 100 years (25 mi)
- Gaston County, NC: 4.22 m/s, 7,732 kWh, payback 87 years (30 mi)
- Rutherford County, NC: 3.24 m/s, 3,367 kWh, payback over 100 years (30 mi)
Sun versus wind in Cherokee County
Cherokee County gets 4.44 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,296 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 516. Kilowatt for kilowatt, panels make 2.5 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.