Wind Turbine Payback in Lexington County, SC
Wind turbine payback in Lexington 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 Lexington County, SC averages 3.93 m/s (8.8 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 6,231 kWh a year, worth $991 at SC's 15.9¢/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 Lexington County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Lexington County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 7.6 m/s at the hub against 3.93 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,352 kWh a year here against the turbine's 623, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 80¢/kWh, 5.0 times what SC pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 7.6 m/s instead of 3.93. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of SC
Lexington County is the 2,112th 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 Lexington County
April is the strongest month here, at 4.57 m/s and about 803 kWh. August is the weakest, 3.14 m/s and 256 kWh, so the best month makes 3.1 times the worst. November to March brings in 51% of the year's output in Lexington County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 4.27 m/s | 678 kWh | $108 |
| February | 4.38 m/s | 660 kWh | $105 |
| March | 4.51 m/s | 799 kWh | $127 |
| April | 4.57 m/s | 803 kWh | $128 |
| May | 3.97 m/s | 545 kWh | $87 |
| June | 3.45 m/s | 340 kWh | $54 |
| July | 3.28 m/s | 298 kWh | $47 |
| August | 3.14 m/s | 256 kWh | $41 |
| September | 3.69 m/s | 420 kWh | $67 |
| October | 3.87 m/s | 506 kWh | $80 |
| November | 4.03 m/s | 552 kWh | $88 |
| December | 4.05 m/s | 581 kWh | $92 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Lexington County averages 2.77 m/s; at 50 m it is 4.63 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.319, typical of rough, sheltered ground: trees or buildings slow the low wind a lot. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 4,158 to 10,132 kWh a year, 144% 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 | 3.46 m/s | 4,158 kWh | over 100 years |
| 30 m | 3.93 m/s | 6,249 kWh | over 100 years |
| 40 m | 4.31 m/s | 8,243 kWh | 76 years |
| 50 m | 4.63 m/s | 10,132 kWh | 62 years |
Counties around Lexington County
3 of the 6 closest counties are windier at turbine height; the windiest, Richland County, averages 4.7 m/s.
- Richland County, SC: 4.7 m/s, 10,571 kWh, payback 60 years (23 mi)
- Saluda County, SC: 3.26 m/s, 3,436 kWh, payback over 100 years (27 mi)
- Aiken County, SC: 4.27 m/s, 8,008 kWh, payback 79 years (31 mi)
- Calhoun County, SC: 4.42 m/s, 8,865 kWh, payback 71 years (32 mi)
- Newberry County, SC: 3.16 m/s, 3,099 kWh, payback over 100 years (33 mi)
- Fairfield County, SC: 3.02 m/s, 2,661 kWh, payback over 100 years (36 mi)
Sun versus wind in Lexington County
Lexington County gets 4.63 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,352 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 623. 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.