Wind Turbine Payback in Gordon County, GA
Wind turbine payback in Gordon 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 Gordon County, GA averages 3.07 m/s (6.9 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 2,813 kWh a year, worth $435 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 Gordon County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Gordon County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 7.8 m/s at the hub against 3.07 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,294 kWh a year here against the turbine's 281, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 178¢/kWh, 11.5 times what GA pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 7.8 m/s instead of 3.07. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of GA
Gordon County is the 3,012th 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 Gordon County
March is the strongest month here, at 3.61 m/s and about 405 kWh. July is the weakest, 2.33 m/s and 86 kWh, so the best month makes 4.7 times the worst. November to March brings in 58% of the year's output in Gordon County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 3.51 m/s | 372 kWh | $58 |
| February | 3.58 m/s | 358 kWh | $55 |
| March | 3.61 m/s | 405 kWh | $63 |
| April | 3.53 m/s | 365 kWh | $57 |
| May | 2.99 m/s | 217 kWh | $34 |
| June | 2.53 m/s | 116 kWh | $18 |
| July | 2.33 m/s | 86 kWh | $13 |
| August | 2.34 m/s | 89 kWh | $14 |
| September | 2.72 m/s | 151 kWh | $23 |
| October | 3.10 m/s | 246 kWh | $38 |
| November | 3.34 m/s | 306 kWh | $47 |
| December | 3.39 m/s | 331 kWh | $51 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Gordon County averages 1.83 m/s; at 50 m it is 3.91 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.472, typical of rough, sheltered ground: trees or buildings slow the low wind a lot. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 1,428 to 6,134 kWh a year, 330% 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 | 2.54 m/s | 1,428 kWh | over 100 years |
| 30 m | 3.07 m/s | 2,820 kWh | over 100 years |
| 40 m | 3.52 m/s | 4,405 kWh | over 100 years |
| 50 m | 3.91 m/s | 6,134 kWh | over 100 years |
Counties around Gordon County
5 of the 6 closest counties are windier at turbine height; the windiest, Pickens County, averages 3.26 m/s.
- Bartow County, GA: 3.17 m/s, 3,132 kWh, payback over 100 years (19 mi)
- Whitfield County, GA: 3.17 m/s, 3,132 kWh, payback over 100 years (21 mi)
- Murray County, GA: 3.17 m/s, 3,132 kWh, payback over 100 years (21 mi)
- Pickens County, GA: 3.26 m/s, 3,436 kWh, payback over 100 years (22 mi)
- Floyd County, GA: 3.07 m/s, 2,813 kWh, payback over 100 years (26 mi)
- Gilmer County, GA: 3.26 m/s, 3,436 kWh, payback over 100 years (27 mi)
Sun versus wind in Gordon County
Gordon 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 281. Kilowatt for kilowatt, panels make 4.6 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.