Wind Turbine Payback in Surry County, NC
Wind turbine payback in Surry 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 Surry County, NC averages 3.78 m/s (8.5 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 5,523 kWh a year, worth $825 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 Surry County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Surry County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 7.9 m/s at the hub against 3.78 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,256 kWh a year here against the turbine's 552, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 91¢/kWh, 6.1 times what NC pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 7.9 m/s instead of 3.78. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of NC
Surry County is the 2,219th 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 Surry County
March is the strongest month here, at 4.51 m/s and about 796 kWh. August is the weakest, 2.80 m/s and 173 kWh, so the best month makes 4.6 times the worst. November to March brings in 57% of the year's output in Surry County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 4.36 m/s | 722 kWh | $108 |
| February | 4.50 m/s | 716 kWh | $107 |
| March | 4.51 m/s | 796 kWh | $119 |
| April | 4.46 m/s | 750 kWh | $112 |
| May | 3.67 m/s | 427 kWh | $64 |
| June | 3.22 m/s | 271 kWh | $40 |
| July | 2.91 m/s | 200 kWh | $30 |
| August | 2.80 m/s | 173 kWh | $26 |
| September | 3.24 m/s | 278 kWh | $42 |
| October | 3.71 m/s | 442 kWh | $66 |
| November | 3.96 m/s | 524 kWh | $78 |
| December | 4.04 m/s | 577 kWh | $86 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Surry County averages 2.53 m/s; at 50 m it is 4.55 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.365, typical of rough, sheltered ground: trees or buildings slow the low wind a lot. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 3,424 to 9,641 kWh a year, 182% 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 | 3.26 m/s | 3,424 kWh | over 100 years |
| 30 m | 3.78 m/s | 5,505 kWh | over 100 years |
| 40 m | 4.19 m/s | 7,591 kWh | 88 years |
| 50 m | 4.55 m/s | 9,641 kWh | 69 years |
Counties around Surry County
1 of the 6 closest counties is windier at turbine height; the windiest, Yadkin County, averages 4.41 m/s.
- Yadkin County, NC: 4.41 m/s, 8,807 kWh, payback 76 years (18 mi)
- Galax city, VA: 3.78 m/s, 5,523 kWh, payback over 100 years (21 mi)
- Carroll County, VA: 3.78 m/s, 5,523 kWh, payback over 100 years (22 mi)
- Stokes County, NC: 3.73 m/s, 5,297 kWh, payback over 100 years (23 mi)
- Alleghany County, NC: 3.49 m/s, 4,289 kWh, payback over 100 years (25 mi)
- Patrick County, VA: 3.73 m/s, 5,297 kWh, payback over 100 years (28 mi)
Sun versus wind in Surry County
Surry County gets 4.3 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,256 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 552. Kilowatt for kilowatt, panels make 2.3 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.