Wind Turbine Payback in Worth County, GA
Wind turbine payback in Worth 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 Worth County, GA averages 4.84 m/s (10.8 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 11,472 kWh a year, worth $1,776 at GA's 15.48¢/kWh. Against an installed cost of about $100,000, that is a payback of 56 years, and the turbine is built to last about 20.
What to do in Worth County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Worth County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 7.8 m/s at the hub against 4.84 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,399 kWh a year here against the turbine's 1,147, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 44¢/kWh, 2.8 times what GA pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 7.8 m/s instead of 4.84. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of GA
Worth County is the 1,534th 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 Worth County
March is the strongest month here, at 5.53 m/s and about 1,378 kWh. July is the weakest, 3.75 m/s and 459 kWh, so the best month makes 3.0 times the worst. November to March brings in 54% of the year's output in Worth County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 5.47 m/s | 1,346 kWh | $208 |
| February | 5.47 m/s | 1,216 kWh | $188 |
| March | 5.53 m/s | 1,378 kWh | $213 |
| April | 5.26 m/s | 1,180 kWh | $183 |
| May | 4.64 m/s | 868 kWh | $134 |
| June | 3.99 m/s | 536 kWh | $83 |
| July | 3.75 m/s | 459 kWh | $71 |
| August | 3.77 m/s | 466 kWh | $72 |
| September | 4.60 m/s | 818 kWh | $127 |
| October | 4.96 m/s | 1,041 kWh | $161 |
| November | 5.30 m/s | 1,200 kWh | $186 |
| December | 5.35 m/s | 1,272 kWh | $197 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Worth County averages 3.61 m/s; at 50 m it is 5.54 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.266, typical of ordinary open country. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 8,412 to 16,326 kWh a year, 94% 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 | 4.34 m/s | 8,412 kWh | 77 years |
| 30 m | 4.84 m/s | 11,447 kWh | 56 years |
| 40 m | 5.22 m/s | 14,051 kWh | 46 years |
| 50 m | 5.54 m/s | 16,326 kWh | 40 years |
Counties around Worth County
None of the 6 closest counties is windier than Worth County.
- Turner County, GA: 4.84 m/s, 11,472 kWh, payback 56 years (18 mi)
- Tift County, GA: 4.84 m/s, 11,472 kWh, payback 56 years (20 mi)
- Dougherty County, GA: 4.66 m/s, 10,320 kWh, payback 63 years (21 mi)
- Lee County, GA: 4.3 m/s, 8,176 kWh, payback 79 years (25 mi)
- Colquitt County, GA: 4.32 m/s, 8,289 kWh, payback 78 years (25 mi)
- Crisp County, GA: 4.76 m/s, 10,954 kWh, payback 59 years (26 mi)
Sun versus wind in Worth County
Worth County gets 4.79 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,399 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 1,147. Kilowatt for kilowatt, panels make 1.2 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.