Wind Turbine Payback in Marion County, GA
Wind turbine payback in Marion 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 Marion County, GA averages 3.51 m/s (7.9 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 4,368 kWh a year, worth $676 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 Marion County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Marion County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 7.8 m/s at the hub against 3.51 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,346 kWh a year here against the turbine's 437, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 114¢/kWh, 7.4 times what GA pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 7.8 m/s instead of 3.51. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of GA
Marion County is the 2,496th 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 Marion County
March is the strongest month here, at 4.02 m/s and about 567 kWh. July is the weakest, 2.75 m/s and 162 kWh, so the best month makes 3.5 times the worst. November to March brings in 55% of the year's output in Marion County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 3.95 m/s | 536 kWh | $83 |
| February | 3.96 m/s | 490 kWh | $76 |
| March | 4.02 m/s | 567 kWh | $88 |
| April | 3.92 m/s | 509 kWh | $79 |
| May | 3.42 m/s | 340 kWh | $53 |
| June | 2.93 m/s | 198 kWh | $31 |
| July | 2.75 m/s | 162 kWh | $25 |
| August | 2.76 m/s | 164 kWh | $25 |
| September | 3.30 m/s | 294 kWh | $46 |
| October | 3.54 m/s | 381 kWh | $59 |
| November | 3.77 m/s | 449 kWh | $70 |
| December | 3.79 m/s | 473 kWh | $73 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Marion County averages 2.26 m/s; at 50 m it is 4.3 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.400, typical of rough, sheltered ground: trees or buildings slow the low wind a lot. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 2,544 to 8,176 kWh a year, 221% 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 | 2.98 m/s | 2,544 kWh | over 100 years |
| 30 m | 3.51 m/s | 4,350 kWh | over 100 years |
| 40 m | 3.93 m/s | 6,245 kWh | over 100 years |
| 50 m | 4.3 m/s | 8,176 kWh | 79 years |
Counties around Marion County
1 of the 6 closest counties is windier at turbine height; the windiest, Webster County, averages 4.3 m/s.
- Schley County, GA: 3.51 m/s, 4,368 kWh, payback over 100 years (14 mi)
- Chattahoochee County, GA: 3.12 m/s, 2,970 kWh, payback over 100 years (15 mi)
- Taylor County, GA: 3.51 m/s, 4,368 kWh, payback over 100 years (21 mi)
- Webster County, GA: 4.3 m/s, 8,176 kWh, payback 79 years (22 mi)
- Muscogee County, GA: 3.12 m/s, 2,970 kWh, payback over 100 years (23 mi)
- Talbot County, GA: 3.51 m/s, 4,368 kWh, payback over 100 years (24 mi)
Sun versus wind in Marion County
Marion County gets 4.61 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,346 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 437. Kilowatt for kilowatt, panels make 3.1 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.