Wind Turbine Payback in Van Buren County, TN
Wind turbine payback in Van Buren 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 Van Buren County, TN averages 3.42 m/s (7.7 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 4,018 kWh a year, worth $554 at TN's 13.8¢/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 Van Buren County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Van Buren County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 8.4 m/s at the hub against 3.42 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,253 kWh a year here against the turbine's 402, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 124¢/kWh, 9.0 times what TN pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 8.4 m/s instead of 3.42. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of TN
Van Buren County is the 2,596th windiest of 3,144 US counties at turbine height; the national middle is 4.79 m/s. The windiest in TN is Lake County at 5.54 m/s, payback 44 years.
Month by month in Van Buren County
March is the strongest month here, at 4.09 m/s and about 598 kWh. July is the weakest, 2.49 m/s and 113 kWh, so the best month makes 5.3 times the worst. November to March brings in 60% of the year's output in Van Buren County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 4.01 m/s | 562 kWh | $78 |
| February | 4.14 m/s | 559 kWh | $77 |
| March | 4.09 m/s | 598 kWh | $83 |
| April | 4.02 m/s | 551 kWh | $76 |
| May | 3.28 m/s | 297 kWh | $41 |
| June | 2.76 m/s | 160 kWh | $22 |
| July | 2.49 m/s | 113 kWh | $16 |
| August | 2.54 m/s | 122 kWh | $17 |
| September | 2.89 m/s | 188 kWh | $26 |
| October | 3.36 m/s | 322 kWh | $44 |
| November | 3.68 m/s | 416 kWh | $57 |
| December | 3.82 m/s | 485 kWh | $67 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Van Buren County averages 2.18 m/s; at 50 m it is 4.21 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.409, typical of rough, sheltered ground: trees or buildings slow the low wind a lot. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 2,298 to 7,678 kWh a year, 234% 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 | 2.89 m/s | 2,298 kWh | over 100 years |
| 30 m | 3.42 m/s | 4,004 kWh | over 100 years |
| 40 m | 3.84 m/s | 5,813 kWh | over 100 years |
| 50 m | 4.21 m/s | 7,678 kWh | 94 years |
Counties around Van Buren County
2 of the 6 closest counties are windier at turbine height; the windiest, White County, averages 3.44 m/s.
- White County, TN: 3.44 m/s, 4,094 kWh, payback over 100 years (16 mi)
- Bledsoe County, TN: 3.07 m/s, 2,813 kWh, payback over 100 years (16 mi)
- Warren County, TN: 3.42 m/s, 4,018 kWh, payback over 100 years (18 mi)
- Sequatchie County, TN: 3.42 m/s, 4,018 kWh, payback over 100 years (23 mi)
- Grundy County, TN: 3.42 m/s, 4,018 kWh, payback over 100 years (25 mi)
- DeKalb County, TN: 3.44 m/s, 4,094 kWh, payback over 100 years (29 mi)
Sun versus wind in Van Buren County
Van Buren County gets 4.29 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,253 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 402. Kilowatt for kilowatt, panels make 3.1 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.