Wind Turbine Payback in Wilkes County, GA
Wind turbine payback in Wilkes 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 Wilkes County, GA averages 3.08 m/s (6.9 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 2,844 kWh a year, worth $440 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 Wilkes County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Wilkes County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 7.8 m/s at the hub against 3.08 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,349 kWh a year here against the turbine's 284, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 176¢/kWh, 11.4 times what GA pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 7.8 m/s instead of 3.08. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of GA
Wilkes County is the 3,002nd 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 Wilkes County
March is the strongest month here, at 3.55 m/s and about 384 kWh. August is the weakest, 2.41 m/s and 99 kWh, so the best month makes 3.9 times the worst. November to March brings in 53% of the year's output in Wilkes County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 3.39 m/s | 331 kWh | $51 |
| February | 3.46 m/s | 320 kWh | $50 |
| March | 3.55 m/s | 384 kWh | $59 |
| April | 3.56 m/s | 374 kWh | $58 |
| May | 3.08 m/s | 243 kWh | $38 |
| June | 2.67 m/s | 142 kWh | $22 |
| July | 2.49 m/s | 114 kWh | $18 |
| August | 2.41 m/s | 99 kWh | $15 |
| September | 2.86 m/s | 181 kWh | $28 |
| October | 3.04 m/s | 232 kWh | $36 |
| November | 3.20 m/s | 265 kWh | $41 |
| December | 3.22 m/s | 280 kWh | $43 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Wilkes County averages 1.9 m/s; at 50 m it is 3.85 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.439, typical of rough, sheltered ground: trees or buildings slow the low wind a lot. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 1,510 to 5,847 kWh a year, 287% 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 | 2.57 m/s | 1,510 kWh | over 100 years |
| 30 m | 3.08 m/s | 2,833 kWh | over 100 years |
| 40 m | 3.49 m/s | 4,292 kWh | over 100 years |
| 50 m | 3.85 m/s | 5,847 kWh | over 100 years |
Counties around Wilkes County
2 of the 6 closest counties are windier at turbine height; the windiest, McDuffie County, averages 3.71 m/s.
- Taliaferro County, GA: 3.04 m/s, 2,721 kWh, payback over 100 years (17 mi)
- Lincoln County, GA: 3.08 m/s, 2,844 kWh, payback over 100 years (17 mi)
- Oglethorpe County, GA: 2.95 m/s, 2,455 kWh, payback over 100 years (20 mi)
- Elbert County, GA: 2.95 m/s, 2,455 kWh, payback over 100 years (24 mi)
- McDuffie County, GA: 3.71 m/s, 5,209 kWh, payback over 100 years (26 mi)
- Warren County, GA: 3.71 m/s, 5,209 kWh, payback over 100 years (26 mi)
Sun versus wind in Wilkes County
Wilkes County gets 4.62 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,349 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 284. Kilowatt for kilowatt, panels make 4.8 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.