Wind Turbine Payback in Troup County, GA
Wind turbine payback in Troup 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 Troup County, GA averages 3.07 m/s (6.9 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 2,813 kWh a year, worth $435 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 Troup County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Troup County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 7.8 m/s at the hub against 3.07 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,314 kWh a year here against the turbine's 281, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 178¢/kWh, 11.5 times what GA pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 7.8 m/s instead of 3.07. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of GA
Troup County is the 3,012th 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 Troup County
March is the strongest month here, at 3.54 m/s and about 380 kWh. July is the weakest, 2.38 m/s and 95 kWh, so the best month makes 4.0 times the worst. November to March brings in 56% of the year's output in Troup County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 3.46 m/s | 354 kWh | $55 |
| February | 3.50 m/s | 331 kWh | $51 |
| March | 3.54 m/s | 380 kWh | $59 |
| April | 3.46 m/s | 342 kWh | $53 |
| May | 3.00 m/s | 220 kWh | $34 |
| June | 2.54 m/s | 119 kWh | $18 |
| July | 2.38 m/s | 95 kWh | $15 |
| August | 2.40 m/s | 97 kWh | $15 |
| September | 2.85 m/s | 179 kWh | $28 |
| October | 3.11 m/s | 251 kWh | $39 |
| November | 3.33 m/s | 301 kWh | $47 |
| December | 3.34 m/s | 316 kWh | $49 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Troup County averages 1.8 m/s; at 50 m it is 3.93 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.485, typical of rough, sheltered ground: trees or buildings slow the low wind a lot. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 1,392 to 6,231 kWh a year, 348% 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 | 2.52 m/s | 1,392 kWh | over 100 years |
| 30 m | 3.07 m/s | 2,805 kWh | over 100 years |
| 40 m | 3.53 m/s | 4,436 kWh | over 100 years |
| 50 m | 3.93 m/s | 6,231 kWh | over 100 years |
Counties around Troup County
6 of the 6 closest counties are windier at turbine height; the windiest, Heard County, averages 3.16 m/s.
- Heard County, GA: 3.16 m/s, 3,099 kWh, payback over 100 years (19 mi)
- Meriwether County, GA: 3.15 m/s, 3,067 kWh, payback over 100 years (21 mi)
- Harris County, GA: 3.12 m/s, 2,970 kWh, payback over 100 years (22 mi)
- Chambers County, AL: 3.11 m/s, 2,938 kWh, payback over 100 years (23 mi)
- Coweta County, GA: 3.16 m/s, 3,099 kWh, payback over 100 years (27 mi)
- Randolph County, AL: 3.16 m/s, 3,099 kWh, payback over 100 years (31 mi)
Sun versus wind in Troup County
Troup County gets 4.5 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,314 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 281. Kilowatt for kilowatt, panels make 4.7 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.