Wind Turbine Payback in Fulton County, GA
Wind turbine payback in Fulton 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 Fulton County, GA averages 3.79 m/s (8.5 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 5,568 kWh a year, worth $862 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 Fulton County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Fulton County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 7.8 m/s at the hub against 3.79 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,317 kWh a year here against the turbine's 557, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 90¢/kWh, 5.8 times what GA pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 7.8 m/s instead of 3.79. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of GA
Fulton County is the 2,212th 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 Fulton County
March is the strongest month here, at 4.47 m/s and about 780 kWh. July is the weakest, 2.80 m/s and 174 kWh, so the best month makes 4.5 times the worst. November to March brings in 59% of the year's output in Fulton County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 4.43 m/s | 759 kWh | $117 |
| February | 4.47 m/s | 705 kWh | $109 |
| March | 4.47 m/s | 780 kWh | $121 |
| April | 4.29 m/s | 668 kWh | $103 |
| May | 3.65 m/s | 418 kWh | $65 |
| June | 3.03 m/s | 220 kWh | $34 |
| July | 2.80 m/s | 174 kWh | $27 |
| August | 2.82 m/s | 177 kWh | $27 |
| September | 3.40 m/s | 325 kWh | $50 |
| October | 3.80 m/s | 479 kWh | $74 |
| November | 4.11 m/s | 585 kWh | $91 |
| December | 4.25 m/s | 670 kWh | $104 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Fulton County averages 2.59 m/s; at 50 m it is 4.52 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.346, typical of rough, sheltered ground: trees or buildings slow the low wind a lot. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 3,548 to 9,459 kWh a year, 167% 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 | 3.29 m/s | 3,548 kWh | over 100 years |
| 30 m | 3.79 m/s | 5,558 kWh | over 100 years |
| 40 m | 4.18 m/s | 7,537 kWh | 86 years |
| 50 m | 4.52 m/s | 9,459 kWh | 68 years |
Counties around Fulton County
2 of the 6 closest counties are windier at turbine height; the windiest, Clayton County, averages 3.86 m/s.
- Cobb County, GA: 3.79 m/s, 5,568 kWh, payback over 100 years (12 mi)
- DeKalb County, GA: 3.79 m/s, 5,568 kWh, payback over 100 years (14 mi)
- Clayton County, GA: 3.86 m/s, 5,894 kWh, payback over 100 years (17 mi)
- Douglas County, GA: 3.16 m/s, 3,099 kWh, payback over 100 years (18 mi)
- Paulding County, GA: 3.17 m/s, 3,132 kWh, payback over 100 years (25 mi)
- Fayette County, GA: 3.86 m/s, 5,894 kWh, payback over 100 years (26 mi)
Sun versus wind in Fulton County
Fulton County gets 4.51 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,317 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 557. Kilowatt for kilowatt, panels make 2.4 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.