Wind Turbine Payback in Hamilton County, FL
Wind turbine payback in Hamilton 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 Hamilton County, FL averages 3.62 m/s (8.1 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 4,820 kWh a year, worth $738 at FL's 15.32¢/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 Hamilton County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Hamilton County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 7.8 m/s at the hub against 3.62 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,384 kWh a year here against the turbine's 482, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 104¢/kWh, 6.8 times what FL pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 7.8 m/s instead of 3.62. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of FL
Hamilton County is the 2,367th windiest of 3,144 US counties at turbine height; the national middle is 4.79 m/s. The windiest in FL is Brevard County at 5.62 m/s, payback 39 years.
Month by month in Hamilton County
March is the strongest month here, at 4.08 m/s and about 593 kWh. July is the weakest, 2.85 m/s and 186 kWh, so the best month makes 3.2 times the worst. November to March brings in 54% of the year's output in Hamilton County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 4.02 m/s | 567 kWh | $87 |
| February | 4.02 m/s | 512 kWh | $78 |
| March | 4.08 m/s | 593 kWh | $91 |
| April | 3.91 m/s | 505 kWh | $77 |
| May | 3.56 m/s | 388 kWh | $59 |
| June | 3.05 m/s | 225 kWh | $34 |
| July | 2.85 m/s | 186 kWh | $28 |
| August | 2.93 m/s | 203 kWh | $31 |
| September | 3.43 m/s | 334 kWh | $51 |
| October | 3.73 m/s | 449 kWh | $69 |
| November | 3.91 m/s | 505 kWh | $77 |
| December | 3.93 m/s | 528 kWh | $81 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Hamilton County averages 2.48 m/s; at 50 m it is 4.31 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.343, typical of rough, sheltered ground: trees or buildings slow the low wind a lot. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 3,059 to 8,233 kWh a year, 169% 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 | 3.15 m/s | 3,059 kWh | over 100 years |
| 30 m | 3.62 m/s | 4,809 kWh | over 100 years |
| 40 m | 3.99 m/s | 6,539 kWh | 100 years |
| 50 m | 4.31 m/s | 8,233 kWh | 79 years |
Counties around Hamilton County
1 of the 6 closest counties is windier at turbine height; the windiest, Lowndes County, averages 3.98 m/s.
- Echols County, GA: 3.62 m/s, 4,820 kWh, payback over 100 years (15 mi)
- Suwannee County, FL: 3.62 m/s, 4,820 kWh, payback over 100 years (22 mi)
- Columbia County, FL: 3.3 m/s, 3,577 kWh, payback over 100 years (27 mi)
- Lowndes County, GA: 3.98 m/s, 6,477 kWh, payback 100 years (30 mi)
- Madison County, FL: 3.46 m/s, 4,172 kWh, payback over 100 years (31 mi)
- Clinch County, GA: 3.4 m/s, 3,942 kWh, payback over 100 years (33 mi)
Sun versus wind in Hamilton County
Hamilton County gets 4.74 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,384 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 482. Kilowatt for kilowatt, panels make 2.9 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.