Wind Turbine Payback in Calhoun County, MS
Wind turbine payback in Calhoun 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 Calhoun County, MS averages 3.79 m/s (8.5 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 5,568 kWh a year, worth $839 at MS's 15.06¢/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 Calhoun County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Calhoun County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 7.9 m/s at the hub against 3.79 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,326 kWh a year here against the turbine's 557, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 90¢/kWh, 6.0 times what MS pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 7.9 m/s instead of 3.79. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of MS
Calhoun County is the 2,212th windiest of 3,144 US counties at turbine height; the national middle is 4.79 m/s. The windiest in MS is DeSoto County at 5.13 m/s, payback 50 years.
Month by month in Calhoun County
March is the strongest month here, at 4.44 m/s and about 761 kWh. July is the weakest, 2.79 m/s and 172 kWh, so the best month makes 4.4 times the worst. November to March brings in 57% of the year's output in Calhoun County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 4.29 m/s | 691 kWh | $104 |
| February | 4.42 m/s | 679 kWh | $102 |
| March | 4.44 m/s | 761 kWh | $115 |
| April | 4.42 m/s | 728 kWh | $110 |
| May | 3.69 m/s | 433 kWh | $65 |
| June | 3.13 m/s | 248 kWh | $37 |
| July | 2.79 m/s | 172 kWh | $26 |
| August | 2.86 m/s | 187 kWh | $28 |
| September | 3.40 m/s | 325 kWh | $49 |
| October | 3.77 m/s | 465 kWh | $70 |
| November | 4.09 m/s | 576 kWh | $87 |
| December | 4.15 m/s | 625 kWh | $94 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Calhoun County averages 2.56 m/s; at 50 m it is 4.54 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.356, typical of rough, sheltered ground: trees or buildings slow the low wind a lot. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 3,493 to 9,580 kWh a year, 174% 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 | 3.28 m/s | 3,493 kWh | over 100 years |
| 30 m | 3.79 m/s | 5,546 kWh | over 100 years |
| 40 m | 4.19 m/s | 7,587 kWh | 88 years |
| 50 m | 4.54 m/s | 9,580 kWh | 69 years |
Counties around Calhoun County
5 of the 6 closest counties are windier at turbine height; the windiest, Chickasaw County, averages 4.39 m/s.
- Yalobusha County, MS: 4.24 m/s, 7,842 kWh, payback 85 years (22 mi)
- Chickasaw County, MS: 4.39 m/s, 8,690 kWh, payback 76 years (22 mi)
- Webster County, MS: 3.36 m/s, 3,794 kWh, payback over 100 years (23 mi)
- Pontotoc County, MS: 4.39 m/s, 8,690 kWh, payback 76 years (26 mi)
- Grenada County, MS: 4.24 m/s, 7,842 kWh, payback 85 years (29 mi)
- Lafayette County, MS: 3.81 m/s, 5,660 kWh, payback over 100 years (30 mi)
Sun versus wind in Calhoun County
Calhoun County gets 4.54 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,326 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 557. Kilowatt for kilowatt, panels make 2.4 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.