Wind Turbine Payback in Newton County, GA
Wind turbine payback in Newton 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 Newton County, GA averages 3.35 m/s (7.5 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 3,757 kWh a year, worth $582 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 Newton County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Newton County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 7.8 m/s at the hub against 3.35 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,332 kWh a year here against the turbine's 376, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 133¢/kWh, 8.6 times what GA pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 7.8 m/s instead of 3.35. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of GA
Newton County is the 2,683rd 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 Newton County
March is the strongest month here, at 3.91 m/s and about 522 kWh. August is the weakest, 2.55 m/s and 123 kWh, so the best month makes 4.2 times the worst. November to March brings in 57% of the year's output in Newton County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 3.84 m/s | 493 kWh | $76 |
| February | 3.84 m/s | 445 kWh | $69 |
| March | 3.91 m/s | 522 kWh | $81 |
| April | 3.82 m/s | 468 kWh | $72 |
| May | 3.28 m/s | 299 kWh | $46 |
| June | 2.80 m/s | 168 kWh | $26 |
| July | 2.60 m/s | 134 kWh | $21 |
| August | 2.55 m/s | 123 kWh | $19 |
| September | 3.02 m/s | 220 kWh | $34 |
| October | 3.32 m/s | 311 kWh | $48 |
| November | 3.55 m/s | 372 kWh | $58 |
| December | 3.64 m/s | 416 kWh | $64 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Newton County averages 2.12 m/s; at 50 m it is 4.14 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.416, typical of rough, sheltered ground: trees or buildings slow the low wind a lot. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 2,119 to 7,301 kWh a year, 245% 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 | 2.83 m/s | 2,119 kWh | over 100 years |
| 30 m | 3.35 m/s | 3,748 kWh | over 100 years |
| 40 m | 3.77 m/s | 5,491 kWh | over 100 years |
| 50 m | 4.14 m/s | 7,301 kWh | 89 years |
Counties around Newton County
1 of the 6 closest counties is windier at turbine height; the windiest, Henry County, averages 3.86 m/s.
- Rockdale County, GA: 3.35 m/s, 3,757 kWh, payback over 100 years (12 mi)
- Walton County, GA: 3.32 m/s, 3,648 kWh, payback over 100 years (17 mi)
- Henry County, GA: 3.86 m/s, 5,894 kWh, payback over 100 years (19 mi)
- Jasper County, GA: 3.35 m/s, 3,757 kWh, payback over 100 years (19 mi)
- Butts County, GA: 3.35 m/s, 3,757 kWh, payback over 100 years (19 mi)
- Morgan County, GA: 3.35 m/s, 3,757 kWh, payback over 100 years (21 mi)
Sun versus wind in Newton County
Newton 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 376. Kilowatt for kilowatt, panels make 3.5 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.