Wind Turbine Payback in Holmes County, MS
Wind turbine payback in Holmes 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 Holmes County, MS averages 3.71 m/s (8.3 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 5,209 kWh a year, worth $784 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 Holmes County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Holmes County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 7.9 m/s at the hub against 3.71 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,340 kWh a year here against the turbine's 521, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 96¢/kWh, 6.4 times what MS pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 7.9 m/s instead of 3.71. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of MS
Holmes County is the 2,280th 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 Holmes County
March is the strongest month here, at 4.30 m/s and about 692 kWh. July is the weakest, 2.81 m/s and 176 kWh, so the best month makes 3.9 times the worst. November to March brings in 56% of the year's output in Holmes County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 4.16 m/s | 631 kWh | $95 |
| February | 4.26 m/s | 611 kWh | $92 |
| March | 4.30 m/s | 692 kWh | $104 |
| April | 4.31 m/s | 677 kWh | $102 |
| May | 3.62 m/s | 409 kWh | $62 |
| June | 3.11 m/s | 241 kWh | $36 |
| July | 2.81 m/s | 176 kWh | $27 |
| August | 2.89 m/s | 193 kWh | $29 |
| September | 3.31 m/s | 298 kWh | $45 |
| October | 3.73 m/s | 449 kWh | $68 |
| November | 4.04 m/s | 557 kWh | $84 |
| December | 4.09 m/s | 597 kWh | $90 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Holmes County averages 2.45 m/s; at 50 m it is 4.5 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.378, typical of rough, sheltered ground: trees or buildings slow the low wind a lot. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 3,174 to 9,339 kWh a year, 194% 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 | 3.18 m/s | 3,174 kWh | over 100 years |
| 30 m | 3.71 m/s | 5,208 kWh | over 100 years |
| 40 m | 4.14 m/s | 7,280 kWh | 91 years |
| 50 m | 4.5 m/s | 9,339 kWh | 71 years |
Counties around Holmes County
4 of the 6 closest counties are windier at turbine height; the windiest, Humphreys County, averages 4.92 m/s.
- Carroll County, MS: 3.76 m/s, 5,432 kWh, payback over 100 years (24 mi)
- Humphreys County, MS: 4.92 m/s, 11,999 kWh, payback 55 years (25 mi)
- Attala County, MS: 3.05 m/s, 2,751 kWh, payback over 100 years (29 mi)
- Yazoo County, MS: 4.92 m/s, 11,999 kWh, payback 55 years (30 mi)
- Leflore County, MS: 3.76 m/s, 5,432 kWh, payback over 100 years (32 mi)
- Madison County, MS: 3.64 m/s, 4,905 kWh, payback over 100 years (34 mi)
Sun versus wind in Holmes County
Holmes County gets 4.59 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,340 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 521. Kilowatt for kilowatt, panels make 2.6 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.