Wind Turbine Payback in Lee County, SC
Wind turbine payback in Lee 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 Lee County, SC averages 4.98 m/s (11.1 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 12,400 kWh a year, worth $1,972 at SC's 15.9¢/kWh. Against an installed cost of about $100,000, that is a payback of 51 years, and the turbine is built to last about 20.
What to do in Lee County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Lee County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 7.6 m/s at the hub against 4.98 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,332 kWh a year here against the turbine's 1,240, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 40¢/kWh, 2.5 times what SC pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 7.6 m/s instead of 4.98. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of SC
Lee County is the 1,461st windiest of 3,144 US counties at turbine height; the national middle is 4.79 m/s. The windiest in SC is Beaufort County at 5.71 m/s, payback 36 years.
Month by month in Lee County
April is the strongest month here, at 5.79 m/s and about 1,491 kWh. August is the weakest, 3.94 m/s and 532 kWh, so the best month makes 2.8 times the worst. November to March brings in 50% of the year's output in Lee County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 5.37 m/s | 1,282 kWh | $204 |
| February | 5.57 m/s | 1,269 kWh | $202 |
| March | 5.69 m/s | 1,480 kWh | $235 |
| April | 5.79 m/s | 1,491 kWh | $237 |
| May | 5.02 m/s | 1,076 kWh | $171 |
| June | 4.36 m/s | 702 kWh | $112 |
| July | 4.20 m/s | 647 kWh | $103 |
| August | 3.94 m/s | 532 kWh | $85 |
| September | 4.73 m/s | 885 kWh | $141 |
| October | 4.92 m/s | 1,021 kWh | $162 |
| November | 5.10 m/s | 1,085 kWh | $173 |
| December | 5.14 m/s | 1,147 kWh | $182 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Lee County averages 3.72 m/s; at 50 m it is 5.71 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.266, typical of ordinary open country. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 9,189 to 17,565 kWh a year, 91% 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 | 4.47 m/s | 9,189 kWh | 68 years |
| 30 m | 4.98 m/s | 12,430 kWh | 51 years |
| 40 m | 5.38 m/s | 15,183 kWh | 41 years |
| 50 m | 5.71 m/s | 17,565 kWh | 36 years |
Counties around Lee County
None of the 6 closest counties is windier than Lee County.
- Sumter County, SC: 4.7 m/s, 10,571 kWh, payback 60 years (18 mi)
- Darlington County, SC: 4.46 m/s, 9,100 kWh, payback 69 years (20 mi)
- Kershaw County, SC: 3.44 m/s, 4,094 kWh, payback over 100 years (23 mi)
- Florence County, SC: 4.98 m/s, 12,400 kWh, payback 51 years (32 mi)
- Chesterfield County, SC: 4.46 m/s, 9,100 kWh, payback 69 years (33 mi)
- Clarendon County, SC: 4.34 m/s, 8,403 kWh, payback 75 years (34 mi)
Sun versus wind in Lee County
Lee County gets 4.56 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,332 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 1,240. Kilowatt for kilowatt, panels make 1.1 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.