Wind Turbine Payback in Choctaw County, MS
Wind turbine payback in Choctaw 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 Choctaw County, MS averages 3.36 m/s (7.5 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 3,794 kWh a year, worth $571 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 Choctaw County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Choctaw County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 7.9 m/s at the hub against 3.36 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,326 kWh a year here against the turbine's 379, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 132¢/kWh, 8.8 times what MS pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 7.9 m/s instead of 3.36. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of MS
Choctaw County is the 2,665th 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 Choctaw County
March is the strongest month here, at 3.86 m/s and about 500 kWh. July is the weakest, 2.60 m/s and 133 kWh, so the best month makes 3.8 times the worst. November to March brings in 55% of the year's output in Choctaw County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 3.73 m/s | 450 kWh | $68 |
| February | 3.83 m/s | 440 kWh | $66 |
| March | 3.86 m/s | 500 kWh | $75 |
| April | 3.88 m/s | 490 kWh | $74 |
| May | 3.27 m/s | 295 kWh | $44 |
| June | 2.87 m/s | 183 kWh | $28 |
| July | 2.60 m/s | 133 kWh | $20 |
| August | 2.64 m/s | 141 kWh | $21 |
| September | 3.08 m/s | 235 kWh | $35 |
| October | 3.37 m/s | 327 kWh | $49 |
| November | 3.62 m/s | 395 kWh | $59 |
| December | 3.62 m/s | 411 kWh | $62 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Choctaw County averages 2.12 m/s; at 50 m it is 4.16 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.419, typical of rough, sheltered ground: trees or buildings slow the low wind a lot. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 2,135 to 7,408 kWh a year, 247% 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 | 2.83 m/s | 2,135 kWh | over 100 years |
| 30 m | 3.36 m/s | 3,788 kWh | over 100 years |
| 40 m | 3.79 m/s | 5,562 kWh | over 100 years |
| 50 m | 4.16 m/s | 7,408 kWh | 90 years |
Counties around Choctaw County
2 of the 6 closest counties are windier at turbine height; the windiest, Oktibbeha County, averages 4.02 m/s.
- Webster County, MS: 3.36 m/s, 3,794 kWh, payback over 100 years (18 mi)
- Winston County, MS: 3.27 m/s, 3,471 kWh, payback over 100 years (22 mi)
- Oktibbeha County, MS: 4.02 m/s, 6,678 kWh, payback 99 years (22 mi)
- Montgomery County, MS: 3.36 m/s, 3,794 kWh, payback over 100 years (25 mi)
- Attala County, MS: 3.05 m/s, 2,751 kWh, payback over 100 years (26 mi)
- Clay County, MS: 4.02 m/s, 6,678 kWh, payback 99 years (35 mi)
Sun versus wind in Choctaw County
Choctaw 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 379. Kilowatt for kilowatt, panels make 3.5 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.