Wind Turbine Payback in Laurens County, GA
Wind turbine payback in Laurens 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 Laurens County, GA averages 3.94 m/s (8.8 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 6,280 kWh a year, worth $972 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 Laurens County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Laurens County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 7.8 m/s at the hub against 3.94 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,369 kWh a year here against the turbine's 628, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 80¢/kWh, 5.1 times what GA pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 7.8 m/s instead of 3.94. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of GA
Laurens County is the 2,096th 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 Laurens County
March is the strongest month here, at 4.53 m/s and about 808 kWh. August is the weakest, 3.12 m/s and 253 kWh, so the best month makes 3.2 times the worst. November to March brings in 53% of the year's output in Laurens County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 4.41 m/s | 749 kWh | $116 |
| February | 4.42 m/s | 680 kWh | $105 |
| March | 4.53 m/s | 808 kWh | $125 |
| April | 4.40 m/s | 721 kWh | $112 |
| May | 3.89 m/s | 514 kWh | $80 |
| June | 3.37 m/s | 313 kWh | $48 |
| July | 3.18 m/s | 269 kWh | $42 |
| August | 3.12 m/s | 253 kWh | $39 |
| September | 3.73 m/s | 437 kWh | $68 |
| October | 3.93 m/s | 531 kWh | $82 |
| November | 4.15 m/s | 605 kWh | $94 |
| December | 4.19 m/s | 645 kWh | $100 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Laurens County averages 2.69 m/s; at 50 m it is 4.71 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.348, typical of rough, sheltered ground: trees or buildings slow the low wind a lot. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 4,033 to 10,635 kWh a year, 164% 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 | 3.42 m/s | 4,033 kWh | over 100 years |
| 30 m | 3.94 m/s | 6,294 kWh | over 100 years |
| 40 m | 4.36 m/s | 8,506 kWh | 76 years |
| 50 m | 4.71 m/s | 10,635 kWh | 61 years |
Counties around Laurens County
5 of the 6 closest counties are windier at turbine height; the windiest, Treutlen County, averages 4.79 m/s.
- Treutlen County, GA: 4.79 m/s, 11,147 kWh, payback 58 years (21 mi)
- Dodge County, GA: 4.54 m/s, 9,580 kWh, payback 67 years (21 mi)
- Wheeler County, GA: 4.56 m/s, 9,702 kWh, payback 67 years (23 mi)
- Bleckley County, GA: 3.94 m/s, 6,280 kWh, payback over 100 years (24 mi)
- Johnson County, GA: 4.79 m/s, 11,147 kWh, payback 58 years (26 mi)
- Montgomery County, GA: 4.56 m/s, 9,702 kWh, payback 67 years (28 mi)
Sun versus wind in Laurens County
Laurens County gets 4.69 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,369 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 628. Kilowatt for kilowatt, panels make 2.2 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.