Wind Turbine Payback in Dickson County, TN
Wind turbine payback in Dickson 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 Dickson County, TN averages 3.51 m/s (7.9 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 4,368 kWh a year, worth $603 at TN's 13.8¢/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 Dickson County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Dickson County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 8.4 m/s at the hub against 3.51 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,241 kWh a year here against the turbine's 437, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 114¢/kWh, 8.3 times what TN pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 8.4 m/s instead of 3.51. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of TN
Dickson County is the 2,496th windiest of 3,144 US counties at turbine height; the national middle is 4.79 m/s. The windiest in TN is Lake County at 5.54 m/s, payback 44 years.
Month by month in Dickson County
March is the strongest month here, at 4.17 m/s and about 632 kWh. July is the weakest, 2.61 m/s and 134 kWh, so the best month makes 4.7 times the worst. November to March brings in 58% of the year's output in Dickson County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 4.05 m/s | 579 kWh | $80 |
| February | 4.15 m/s | 565 kWh | $78 |
| March | 4.17 m/s | 632 kWh | $87 |
| April | 4.13 m/s | 598 kWh | $83 |
| May | 3.39 m/s | 331 kWh | $46 |
| June | 2.86 m/s | 182 kWh | $25 |
| July | 2.61 m/s | 134 kWh | $18 |
| August | 2.70 m/s | 153 kWh | $21 |
| September | 3.06 m/s | 230 kWh | $32 |
| October | 3.48 m/s | 359 kWh | $50 |
| November | 3.77 m/s | 451 kWh | $62 |
| December | 3.86 m/s | 501 kWh | $69 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Dickson County averages 2.2 m/s; at 50 m it is 4.37 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.426, typical of rough, sheltered ground: trees or buildings slow the low wind a lot. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 2,478 to 8,575 kWh a year, 246% 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 | 2.96 m/s | 2,478 kWh | over 100 years |
| 30 m | 3.52 m/s | 4,390 kWh | over 100 years |
| 40 m | 3.97 m/s | 6,446 kWh | over 100 years |
| 50 m | 4.37 m/s | 8,575 kWh | 85 years |
Counties around Dickson County
4 of the 6 closest counties are windier at turbine height; the windiest, Cheatham County, averages 4.5 m/s.
- Cheatham County, TN: 4.5 m/s, 9,339 kWh, payback 78 years (17 mi)
- Houston County, TN: 3.99 m/s, 6,527 kWh, payback over 100 years (21 mi)
- Hickman County, TN: 3.51 m/s, 4,368 kWh, payback over 100 years (24 mi)
- Montgomery County, TN: 3.99 m/s, 6,527 kWh, payback over 100 years (25 mi)
- Humphreys County, TN: 3.51 m/s, 4,368 kWh, payback over 100 years (25 mi)
- Williamson County, TN: 4.41 m/s, 8,807 kWh, payback 82 years (31 mi)
Sun versus wind in Dickson County
Dickson County gets 4.25 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,241 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 437. Kilowatt for kilowatt, panels make 2.8 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.