Wind Turbine Payback in Haywood County, TN
Wind turbine payback in Haywood 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 Haywood County, TN averages 5.12 m/s (11.5 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 13,353 kWh a year, worth $1,843 at TN's 13.8¢/kWh. Against an installed cost of about $100,000, that is a payback of 54 years, and the turbine is built to last about 20.
What to do in Haywood County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Haywood County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 8.4 m/s at the hub against 5.12 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,291 kWh a year here against the turbine's 1,335, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 37¢/kWh, 2.7 times what TN pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 8.4 m/s instead of 5.12. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of TN
Haywood County is the 1,403rd 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 Haywood County
March is the strongest month here, at 6.02 m/s and about 1,683 kWh. July is the weakest, 3.75 m/s and 458 kWh, so the best month makes 3.7 times the worst. November to March brings in 55% of the year's output in Haywood County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 5.88 m/s | 1,595 kWh | $220 |
| February | 5.97 m/s | 1,495 kWh | $206 |
| March | 6.02 m/s | 1,683 kWh | $232 |
| April | 6.09 m/s | 1,677 kWh | $231 |
| May | 5.08 m/s | 1,111 kWh | $153 |
| June | 4.20 m/s | 625 kWh | $86 |
| July | 3.75 m/s | 458 kWh | $63 |
| August | 3.82 m/s | 485 kWh | $67 |
| September | 4.42 m/s | 730 kWh | $101 |
| October | 5.08 m/s | 1,111 kWh | $153 |
| November | 5.62 m/s | 1,391 kWh | $192 |
| December | 5.67 m/s | 1,464 kWh | $202 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Haywood County averages 3.84 m/s; at 50 m it is 5.86 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.263, typical of ordinary open country. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 9,978 to 18,669 kWh a year, 87% 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 | 4.61 m/s | 9,978 kWh | 73 years |
| 30 m | 5.12 m/s | 13,375 kWh | 54 years |
| 40 m | 5.53 m/s | 16,225 kWh | 45 years |
| 50 m | 5.86 m/s | 18,669 kWh | 39 years |
Counties around Haywood County
3 of the 6 closest counties are windier at turbine height; the windiest, Crockett County, averages 5.41 m/s.
- Crockett County, TN: 5.41 m/s, 15,390 kWh, payback 47 years (18 mi)
- Lauderdale County, TN: 5.41 m/s, 15,390 kWh, payback 47 years (23 mi)
- Madison County, TN: 4.34 m/s, 8,403 kWh, payback 86 years (25 mi)
- Tipton County, TN: 5.35 m/s, 14,963 kWh, payback 48 years (27 mi)
- Fayette County, TN: 4.35 m/s, 8,460 kWh, payback 86 years (28 mi)
- Hardeman County, TN: 3.47 m/s, 4,211 kWh, payback over 100 years (30 mi)
Sun versus wind in Haywood County
Haywood County gets 4.42 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,291 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 1,335. This is one of the rare places where a kilowatt of turbine out-produces a kilowatt of panels, by 1.0 times. 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.