Wind Turbine Payback in New Hanover County, NC
Wind turbine payback in New Hanover 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 New Hanover County, NC averages 4.73 m/s (10.6 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 10,762 kWh a year, worth $1,608 at NC's 14.94¢/kWh. Against an installed cost of about $100,000, that is a payback of 62 years, and the turbine is built to last about 20.
What to do in New Hanover County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in New Hanover County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 7.9 m/s at the hub against 4.73 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,343 kWh a year here against the turbine's 1,076, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 46¢/kWh, 3.1 times what NC pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 7.9 m/s instead of 4.73. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of NC
New Hanover County is the 1,596th 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 New Hanover County
April is the strongest month here, at 5.30 m/s and about 1,202 kWh. August is the weakest, 3.95 m/s and 539 kWh, so the best month makes 2.2 times the worst. November to March brings in 48% of the year's output in New Hanover County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 5.06 m/s | 1,098 kWh | $164 |
| February | 5.18 m/s | 1,056 kWh | $158 |
| March | 5.18 m/s | 1,169 kWh | $175 |
| April | 5.30 m/s | 1,202 kWh | $180 |
| May | 4.74 m/s | 921 kWh | $138 |
| June | 4.34 m/s | 690 kWh | $103 |
| July | 4.33 m/s | 709 kWh | $106 |
| August | 3.95 m/s | 539 kWh | $81 |
| September | 4.47 m/s | 753 kWh | $112 |
| October | 4.56 m/s | 823 kWh | $123 |
| November | 4.76 m/s | 900 kWh | $134 |
| December | 4.88 m/s | 998 kWh | $149 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in New Hanover County averages 3.56 m/s; at 50 m it is 5.39 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.258, typical of ordinary open country. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 7,926 to 15,247 kWh a year, 92% 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 | 4.26 m/s | 7,926 kWh | 84 years |
| 30 m | 4.72 m/s | 10,727 kWh | 62 years |
| 40 m | 5.09 m/s | 13,136 kWh | 51 years |
| 50 m | 5.39 m/s | 15,247 kWh | 44 years |
Counties around New Hanover County
2 of the 6 closest counties are windier at turbine height; the windiest, Duplin County, averages 4.9 m/s.
- Pender County, NC: 3.6 m/s, 4,736 kWh, payback over 100 years (23 mi)
- Brunswick County, NC: 4.73 m/s, 10,762 kWh, payback 62 years (23 mi)
- Columbus County, NC: 4.42 m/s, 8,865 kWh, payback 76 years (45 mi)
- Onslow County, NC: 4.79 m/s, 11,147 kWh, payback 60 years (45 mi)
- Bladen County, NC: 4.42 m/s, 8,865 kWh, payback 76 years (48 mi)
- Duplin County, NC: 4.9 m/s, 11,866 kWh, payback 56 years (52 mi)
Sun versus wind in New Hanover County
New Hanover County gets 4.6 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,343 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 1,076. Kilowatt for kilowatt, panels make 1.2 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.