Wind Turbine Payback in Bullock County, AL
Wind turbine payback in Bullock 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 Bullock County, AL averages 3.04 m/s (6.8 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 2,721 kWh a year, worth $449 at AL's 16.51¢/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 Bullock County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Bullock County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 7.5 m/s at the hub against 3.04 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,346 kWh a year here against the turbine's 272, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 184¢/kWh, 11.1 times what AL pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 7.5 m/s instead of 3.04. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of AL
Bullock County is the 3,036th 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 Bullock County
March is the strongest month here, at 3.46 m/s and about 356 kWh. July is the weakest, 2.40 m/s and 97 kWh, so the best month makes 3.7 times the worst. November to March brings in 55% of the year's output in Bullock County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 3.37 m/s | 325 kWh | $54 |
| February | 3.42 m/s | 307 kWh | $51 |
| March | 3.46 m/s | 356 kWh | $59 |
| April | 3.39 m/s | 322 kWh | $53 |
| May | 2.94 m/s | 206 kWh | $34 |
| June | 2.51 m/s | 113 kWh | $19 |
| July | 2.40 m/s | 97 kWh | $16 |
| August | 2.43 m/s | 103 kWh | $17 |
| September | 2.86 m/s | 180 kWh | $30 |
| October | 3.10 m/s | 246 kWh | $41 |
| November | 3.27 m/s | 285 kWh | $47 |
| December | 3.25 m/s | 290 kWh | $48 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Bullock County averages 1.78 m/s; at 50 m it is 3.89 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.486, typical of rough, sheltered ground: trees or buildings slow the low wind a lot. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 1,334 to 6,037 kWh a year, 353% 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 | 2.49 m/s | 1,334 kWh | over 100 years |
| 30 m | 3.03 m/s | 2,705 kWh | over 100 years |
| 40 m | 3.49 m/s | 4,290 kWh | over 100 years |
| 50 m | 3.89 m/s | 6,037 kWh | over 100 years |
Counties around Bullock County
3 of the 6 closest counties are windier at turbine height; the windiest, Macon County, averages 3.26 m/s.
- Macon County, AL: 3.26 m/s, 3,436 kWh, payback over 100 years (20 mi)
- Barbour County, AL: 3.04 m/s, 2,721 kWh, payback over 100 years (24 mi)
- Pike County, AL: 3.04 m/s, 2,721 kWh, payback over 100 years (25 mi)
- Montgomery County, AL: 3.04 m/s, 2,721 kWh, payback over 100 years (29 mi)
- Russell County, AL: 3.12 m/s, 2,970 kWh, payback over 100 years (34 mi)
- Lee County, AL: 3.26 m/s, 3,436 kWh, payback over 100 years (41 mi)
Sun versus wind in Bullock County
Bullock County gets 4.61 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,346 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 272. Kilowatt for kilowatt, panels make 4.9 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.