Wind Turbine Payback in Dodge County, GA
Wind turbine payback in Dodge 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 Dodge County, GA averages 4.54 m/s (10.2 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 9,580 kWh a year, worth $1,483 at GA's 15.48¢/kWh. Against an installed cost of about $100,000, that is a payback of 67 years, and the turbine is built to last about 20.
What to do in Dodge County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Dodge County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 7.8 m/s at the hub against 4.54 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,358 kWh a year here against the turbine's 958, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 52¢/kWh, 3.4 times what GA pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 7.8 m/s instead of 4.54. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of GA
Dodge County is the 1,727th 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 Dodge County
March is the strongest month here, at 5.21 m/s and about 1,187 kWh. August is the weakest, 3.57 m/s and 393 kWh, so the best month makes 3.0 times the worst. November to March brings in 53% of the year's output in Dodge County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 5.11 m/s | 1,131 kWh | $175 |
| February | 5.11 m/s | 1,021 kWh | $158 |
| March | 5.21 m/s | 1,187 kWh | $184 |
| April | 5.03 m/s | 1,046 kWh | $162 |
| May | 4.46 m/s | 771 kWh | $119 |
| June | 3.84 m/s | 478 kWh | $74 |
| July | 3.65 m/s | 421 kWh | $65 |
| August | 3.57 m/s | 393 kWh | $61 |
| September | 4.29 m/s | 669 kWh | $104 |
| October | 4.57 m/s | 829 kWh | $128 |
| November | 4.84 m/s | 942 kWh | $146 |
| December | 4.91 m/s | 1,012 kWh | $157 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Dodge County averages 3.33 m/s; at 50 m it is 5.25 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.283, typical of ordinary open country. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 6,835 to 14,256 kWh a year, 109% 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 | 4.05 m/s | 6,835 kWh | 95 years |
| 30 m | 4.54 m/s | 9,600 kWh | 67 years |
| 40 m | 4.93 m/s | 12,057 kWh | 54 years |
| 50 m | 5.25 m/s | 14,256 kWh | 45 years |
Counties around Dodge County
3 of the 6 closest counties are windier at turbine height; the windiest, Pulaski County, averages 4.76 m/s.
- Pulaski County, GA: 4.76 m/s, 10,954 kWh, payback 59 years (19 mi)
- Bleckley County, GA: 3.94 m/s, 6,280 kWh, payback over 100 years (21 mi)
- Wilcox County, GA: 4.76 m/s, 10,954 kWh, payback 59 years (21 mi)
- Laurens County, GA: 3.94 m/s, 6,280 kWh, payback over 100 years (21 mi)
- Telfair County, GA: 4.54 m/s, 9,580 kWh, payback 67 years (22 mi)
- Wheeler County, GA: 4.56 m/s, 9,702 kWh, payback 67 years (26 mi)
Sun versus wind in Dodge County
Dodge County gets 4.65 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,358 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 958. Kilowatt for kilowatt, panels make 1.4 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.