Wind Turbine Payback in Pierce County, GA
Wind turbine payback in Pierce 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 Pierce County, GA averages 4.23 m/s (9.5 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 7,787 kWh a year, worth $1,205 at GA's 15.48¢/kWh. Against an installed cost of about $100,000, that is a payback of 83 years, and the turbine is built to last about 20.
What to do in Pierce County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Pierce County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 7.8 m/s at the hub against 4.23 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,381 kWh a year here against the turbine's 779, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 64¢/kWh, 4.1 times what GA pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 7.8 m/s instead of 4.23. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of GA
Pierce County is the 1,926th 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 Pierce County
March is the strongest month here, at 4.80 m/s and about 953 kWh. August is the weakest, 3.37 m/s and 326 kWh, so the best month makes 2.9 times the worst. November to March brings in 52% of the year's output in Pierce County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 4.66 m/s | 879 kWh | $136 |
| February | 4.68 m/s | 802 kWh | $124 |
| March | 4.80 m/s | 953 kWh | $148 |
| April | 4.66 m/s | 846 kWh | $131 |
| May | 4.23 m/s | 663 kWh | $103 |
| June | 3.65 m/s | 406 kWh | $63 |
| July | 3.43 m/s | 346 kWh | $54 |
| August | 3.37 m/s | 326 kWh | $50 |
| September | 4.02 m/s | 548 kWh | $85 |
| October | 4.27 m/s | 679 kWh | $105 |
| November | 4.48 m/s | 759 kWh | $117 |
| December | 4.51 m/s | 798 kWh | $124 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Pierce County averages 3.06 m/s; at 50 m it is 4.91 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.294, typical of ordinary open country. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 5,389 to 11,933 kWh a year, 121% 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 | 3.75 m/s | 5,389 kWh | over 100 years |
| 30 m | 4.23 m/s | 7,761 kWh | 83 years |
| 40 m | 4.6 m/s | 9,936 kWh | 65 years |
| 50 m | 4.91 m/s | 11,933 kWh | 54 years |
Counties around Pierce County
None of the 6 closest counties is windier than Pierce County.
- Brantley County, GA: 3.28 m/s, 3,506 kWh, payback over 100 years (17 mi)
- Bacon County, GA: 4.23 m/s, 7,787 kWh, payback 83 years (20 mi)
- Wayne County, GA: 3.47 m/s, 4,211 kWh, payback over 100 years (22 mi)
- Ware County, GA: 3.4 m/s, 3,942 kWh, payback over 100 years (24 mi)
- Appling County, GA: 4.23 m/s, 7,787 kWh, payback 83 years (27 mi)
- Long County, GA: 3.47 m/s, 4,211 kWh, payback over 100 years (39 mi)
Sun versus wind in Pierce County
Pierce County gets 4.73 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,381 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 779. Kilowatt for kilowatt, panels make 1.8 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.