Wind Turbine Payback in Lauderdale County, AL
Wind turbine payback in Lauderdale 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 Lauderdale County, AL averages 4.02 m/s (9 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 6,678 kWh a year, worth $1,103 at AL's 16.51¢/kWh. Against an installed cost of about $100,000, that is a payback of 91 years, and the turbine is built to last about 20.
What to do in Lauderdale County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Lauderdale County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 7.5 m/s at the hub against 4.02 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,296 kWh a year here against the turbine's 668, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 75¢/kWh, 4.5 times what AL pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 7.5 m/s instead of 4.02. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of AL
Lauderdale County is the 2,042nd 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 Lauderdale County
March is the strongest month here, at 4.80 m/s and about 950 kWh. July is the weakest, 2.89 m/s and 195 kWh, so the best month makes 4.9 times the worst. November to March brings in 58% of the year's output in Lauderdale County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 4.64 m/s | 863 kWh | $142 |
| February | 4.81 m/s | 867 kWh | $143 |
| March | 4.80 m/s | 950 kWh | $157 |
| April | 4.75 m/s | 897 kWh | $148 |
| May | 3.91 m/s | 522 kWh | $86 |
| June | 3.22 m/s | 272 kWh | $45 |
| July | 2.89 m/s | 195 kWh | $32 |
| August | 3.00 m/s | 221 kWh | $36 |
| September | 3.50 m/s | 357 kWh | $59 |
| October | 3.98 m/s | 550 kWh | $91 |
| November | 4.34 m/s | 689 kWh | $114 |
| December | 4.46 m/s | 771 kWh | $127 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Lauderdale County averages 2.84 m/s; at 50 m it is 4.73 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.317, typical of rough, sheltered ground: trees or buildings slow the low wind a lot. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 4,479 to 10,762 kWh a year, 140% 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 | 3.54 m/s | 4,479 kWh | over 100 years |
| 30 m | 4.02 m/s | 6,693 kWh | 91 years |
| 40 m | 4.41 m/s | 8,789 kWh | 69 years |
| 50 m | 4.73 m/s | 10,762 kWh | 56 years |
Counties around Lauderdale County
None of the 6 closest counties is windier than Lauderdale County.
- Colbert County, AL: 3.87 m/s, 5,942 kWh, payback over 100 years (16 mi)
- Wayne County, TN: 3.44 m/s, 4,094 kWh, payback over 100 years (25 mi)
- Lawrence County, TN: 4.02 m/s, 6,678 kWh, payback over 100 years (26 mi)
- Lawrence County, AL: 3.87 m/s, 5,942 kWh, payback over 100 years (32 mi)
- Franklin County, AL: 3.31 m/s, 3,612 kWh, payback over 100 years (34 mi)
- Tishomingo County, MS: 3.31 m/s, 3,612 kWh, payback over 100 years (35 mi)
Sun versus wind in Lauderdale County
Lauderdale County gets 4.44 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,296 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 668. Kilowatt for kilowatt, panels make 1.9 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.