Wind Turbine Payback in Dawson County, GA
Wind turbine payback in Dawson 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 Dawson County, GA averages 3.26 m/s (7.3 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 3,436 kWh a year, worth $532 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 Dawson County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Dawson County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 7.8 m/s at the hub against 3.26 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,294 kWh a year here against the turbine's 344, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 146¢/kWh, 9.4 times what GA pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 7.8 m/s instead of 3.26. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of GA
Dawson County is the 2,801st 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 Dawson County
March is the strongest month here, at 3.83 m/s and about 489 kWh. July is the weakest, 2.42 m/s and 102 kWh, so the best month makes 4.8 times the worst. November to March brings in 59% of the year's output in Dawson County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 3.77 m/s | 464 kWh | $72 |
| February | 3.86 m/s | 451 kWh | $70 |
| March | 3.83 m/s | 489 kWh | $76 |
| April | 3.72 m/s | 432 kWh | $67 |
| May | 3.14 m/s | 257 kWh | $40 |
| June | 2.63 m/s | 135 kWh | $21 |
| July | 2.42 m/s | 102 kWh | $16 |
| August | 2.46 m/s | 107 kWh | $17 |
| September | 2.90 m/s | 189 kWh | $29 |
| October | 3.30 m/s | 305 kWh | $47 |
| November | 3.54 m/s | 368 kWh | $57 |
| December | 3.63 m/s | 414 kWh | $64 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Dawson County averages 2.02 m/s; at 50 m it is 4.08 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.437, typical of rough, sheltered ground: trees or buildings slow the low wind a lot. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 1,879 to 6,986 kWh a year, 272% 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 | 2.73 m/s | 1,879 kWh | over 100 years |
| 30 m | 3.26 m/s | 3,449 kWh | over 100 years |
| 40 m | 3.7 m/s | 5,169 kWh | over 100 years |
| 50 m | 4.08 m/s | 6,986 kWh | 93 years |
Counties around Dawson County
2 of the 6 closest counties are windier at turbine height; the windiest, Forsyth County, averages 3.79 m/s.
- Lumpkin County, GA: 3.12 m/s, 2,970 kWh, payback over 100 years (13 mi)
- Forsyth County, GA: 3.79 m/s, 5,568 kWh, payback over 100 years (15 mi)
- Pickens County, GA: 3.26 m/s, 3,436 kWh, payback over 100 years (18 mi)
- Hall County, GA: 3.12 m/s, 2,970 kWh, payback over 100 years (22 mi)
- Cherokee County, GA: 3.79 m/s, 5,568 kWh, payback over 100 years (22 mi)
- Gilmer County, GA: 3.26 m/s, 3,436 kWh, payback over 100 years (23 mi)
Sun versus wind in Dawson County
Dawson County gets 4.43 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,294 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 344. Kilowatt for kilowatt, panels make 3.8 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.