Wind Turbine Payback in Suwannee County, FL
Wind turbine payback in Suwannee 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 Suwannee County, FL averages 3.62 m/s (8.1 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 4,820 kWh a year, worth $738 at FL's 15.32¢/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 Suwannee County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Suwannee County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 7.8 m/s at the hub against 3.62 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,384 kWh a year here against the turbine's 482, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 104¢/kWh, 6.8 times what FL pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 7.8 m/s instead of 3.62. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of FL
Suwannee County is the 2,367th windiest of 3,144 US counties at turbine height; the national middle is 4.79 m/s. The windiest in FL is Brevard County at 5.62 m/s, payback 39 years.
Month by month in Suwannee County
March is the strongest month here, at 4.06 m/s and about 585 kWh. July is the weakest, 2.88 m/s and 193 kWh, so the best month makes 3.0 times the worst. November to March brings in 54% of the year's output in Suwannee County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 4.03 m/s | 570 kWh | $87 |
| February | 4.00 m/s | 505 kWh | $77 |
| March | 4.06 m/s | 585 kWh | $90 |
| April | 3.87 m/s | 490 kWh | $75 |
| May | 3.55 m/s | 386 kWh | $59 |
| June | 3.10 m/s | 240 kWh | $37 |
| July | 2.88 m/s | 193 kWh | $30 |
| August | 2.98 m/s | 217 kWh | $33 |
| September | 3.46 m/s | 343 kWh | $53 |
| October | 3.72 m/s | 447 kWh | $68 |
| November | 3.89 m/s | 497 kWh | $76 |
| December | 3.92 m/s | 524 kWh | $80 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Suwannee County averages 2.54 m/s; at 50 m it is 4.27 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.323, typical of rough, sheltered ground: trees or buildings slow the low wind a lot. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 3,152 to 8,008 kWh a year, 154% 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 | 3.18 m/s | 3,152 kWh | over 100 years |
| 30 m | 3.62 m/s | 4,822 kWh | over 100 years |
| 40 m | 3.97 m/s | 6,443 kWh | over 100 years |
| 50 m | 4.27 m/s | 8,008 kWh | 82 years |
Counties around Suwannee County
None of the 6 closest counties is windier than Suwannee County.
- Lafayette County, FL: 3.62 m/s, 4,820 kWh, payback over 100 years (18 mi)
- Hamilton County, FL: 3.62 m/s, 4,820 kWh, payback over 100 years (22 mi)
- Columbia County, FL: 3.3 m/s, 3,577 kWh, payback over 100 years (22 mi)
- Madison County, FL: 3.46 m/s, 4,172 kWh, payback over 100 years (34 mi)
- Gilchrist County, FL: 3.59 m/s, 4,694 kWh, payback over 100 years (34 mi)
- Echols County, GA: 3.62 m/s, 4,820 kWh, payback over 100 years (37 mi)
Sun versus wind in Suwannee County
Suwannee County gets 4.74 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,384 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 482. Kilowatt for kilowatt, panels make 2.9 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.