Wind Turbine Payback in Baldwin County, AL
Wind turbine payback in Baldwin 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 Baldwin County, AL averages 4.33 m/s (9.7 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 8,346 kWh a year, worth $1,378 at AL's 16.51¢/kWh. Against an installed cost of about $100,000, that is a payback of 73 years, and the turbine is built to last about 20.
What to do in Baldwin County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Baldwin County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 7.5 m/s at the hub against 4.33 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,431 kWh a year here against the turbine's 835, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 60¢/kWh, 3.6 times what AL pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 7.5 m/s instead of 4.33. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of AL
Baldwin County is the 1,877th windiest of 3,144 US counties at turbine height; the national middle is 4.79 m/s. The windiest in AL is Mobile County at 4.72 m/s, payback 57 years.
Month by month in Baldwin County
January is the strongest month here, at 5.01 m/s and about 1,072 kWh. July is the weakest, 3.40 m/s and 335 kWh, so the best month makes 3.2 times the worst. November to March brings in 56% of the year's output in Baldwin County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 5.01 m/s | 1,072 kWh | $177 |
| February | 4.92 m/s | 918 kWh | $152 |
| March | 4.85 m/s | 977 kWh | $161 |
| April | 4.66 m/s | 848 kWh | $140 |
| May | 4.08 m/s | 593 kWh | $98 |
| June | 3.57 m/s | 378 kWh | $62 |
| July | 3.40 m/s | 335 kWh | $55 |
| August | 3.42 m/s | 341 kWh | $56 |
| September | 4.02 m/s | 548 kWh | $90 |
| October | 4.44 m/s | 763 kWh | $126 |
| November | 4.77 m/s | 904 kWh | $149 |
| December | 4.92 m/s | 1,017 kWh | $168 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Baldwin County averages 3.3 m/s; at 50 m it is 4.92 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.248, typical of ordinary open country. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 6,182 to 11,999 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 | 3.92 m/s | 6,182 kWh | 98 years |
| 30 m | 4.33 m/s | 8,372 kWh | 72 years |
| 40 m | 4.66 m/s | 10,289 kWh | 59 years |
| 50 m | 4.92 m/s | 11,999 kWh | 51 years |
Counties around Baldwin County
3 of the 6 closest counties are windier at turbine height; the windiest, Jackson County, averages 4.9 m/s.
- Mobile County, AL: 4.72 m/s, 10,698 kWh, payback 57 years (27 mi)
- Escambia County, FL: 4.33 m/s, 8,346 kWh, payback 78 years (27 mi)
- Santa Rosa County, FL: 4.82 m/s, 11,341 kWh, payback 58 years (43 mi)
- Escambia County, AL: 3.47 m/s, 4,211 kWh, payback over 100 years (47 mi)
- Jackson County, MS: 4.9 m/s, 11,866 kWh, payback 56 years (54 mi)
- George County, MS: 3.41 m/s, 3,980 kWh, payback over 100 years (55 mi)
Sun versus wind in Baldwin County
Baldwin County gets 4.9 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,431 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 835. Kilowatt for kilowatt, panels make 1.7 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.