Wind Turbine Payback in Montgomery County, NC
Wind turbine payback in Montgomery 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 Montgomery County, NC averages 3.74 m/s (8.4 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 5,342 kWh a year, worth $798 at NC's 14.94¢/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 Montgomery County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Montgomery County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 7.9 m/s at the hub against 3.74 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,296 kWh a year here against the turbine's 534, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 94¢/kWh, 6.3 times what NC pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 7.9 m/s instead of 3.74. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of NC
Montgomery County is the 2,255th windiest of 3,144 US counties at turbine height; the national middle is 4.79 m/s. The windiest in NC is Dare County at 6.91 m/s, payback 25 years.
Month by month in Montgomery County
March is the strongest month here, at 4.39 m/s and about 738 kWh. August is the weakest, 2.81 m/s and 176 kWh, so the best month makes 4.2 times the worst. November to March brings in 55% of the year's output in Montgomery County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 4.18 m/s | 639 kWh | $95 |
| February | 4.35 m/s | 648 kWh | $97 |
| March | 4.39 m/s | 738 kWh | $110 |
| April | 4.38 m/s | 710 kWh | $106 |
| May | 3.71 m/s | 443 kWh | $66 |
| June | 3.19 m/s | 262 kWh | $39 |
| July | 2.92 m/s | 200 kWh | $30 |
| August | 2.81 m/s | 176 kWh | $26 |
| September | 3.38 m/s | 318 kWh | $48 |
| October | 3.70 m/s | 439 kWh | $66 |
| November | 3.88 m/s | 494 kWh | $74 |
| December | 3.96 m/s | 541 kWh | $81 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Montgomery County averages 2.49 m/s; at 50 m it is 4.51 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.369, typical of rough, sheltered ground: trees or buildings slow the low wind a lot. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 3,286 to 9,399 kWh a year, 186% 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 | 3.22 m/s | 3,286 kWh | over 100 years |
| 30 m | 3.74 m/s | 5,320 kWh | over 100 years |
| 40 m | 4.15 m/s | 7,373 kWh | 91 years |
| 50 m | 4.51 m/s | 9,399 kWh | 71 years |
Counties around Montgomery County
1 of the 6 closest counties is windier at turbine height; the windiest, Davidson County, averages 4.47 m/s.
- Stanly County, NC: 3.74 m/s, 5,342 kWh, payback over 100 years (19 mi)
- Moore County, NC: 3.54 m/s, 4,489 kWh, payback over 100 years (24 mi)
- Richmond County, NC: 3.53 m/s, 4,449 kWh, payback over 100 years (24 mi)
- Anson County, NC: 3.53 m/s, 4,449 kWh, payback over 100 years (27 mi)
- Randolph County, NC: 3.74 m/s, 5,342 kWh, payback over 100 years (27 mi)
- Davidson County, NC: 4.47 m/s, 9,160 kWh, payback 73 years (36 mi)
Sun versus wind in Montgomery County
Montgomery County gets 4.44 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,296 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 534. Kilowatt for kilowatt, panels make 2.4 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.