Wind Turbine Payback in Lauderdale County, MS
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, MS averages 3.04 m/s (6.8 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 2,721 kWh a year, worth $410 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 Lauderdale County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Lauderdale County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 7.9 m/s at the hub against 3.04 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,337 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, 12.2 times what MS pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 7.9 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 MS
Lauderdale 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 MS is DeSoto County at 5.13 m/s, payback 50 years.
Month by month in Lauderdale County
March is the strongest month here, at 3.42 m/s and about 343 kWh. July is the weakest, 2.41 m/s and 100 kWh, so the best month makes 3.4 times the worst. November to March brings in 53% of the year's output in Lauderdale County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 3.30 m/s | 304 kWh | $46 |
| February | 3.38 m/s | 296 kWh | $45 |
| March | 3.42 m/s | 343 kWh | $52 |
| April | 3.44 m/s | 337 kWh | $51 |
| May | 3.00 m/s | 222 kWh | $33 |
| June | 2.61 m/s | 130 kWh | $20 |
| July | 2.41 m/s | 100 kWh | $15 |
| August | 2.48 m/s | 111 kWh | $17 |
| September | 2.83 m/s | 175 kWh | $26 |
| October | 3.10 m/s | 246 kWh | $37 |
| November | 3.25 m/s | 281 kWh | $42 |
| December | 3.24 m/s | 285 kWh | $43 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Lauderdale 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 Lauderdale County
3 of the 6 closest counties are windier at turbine height; the windiest, Kemper County, averages 3.27 m/s.
- Kemper County, MS: 3.27 m/s, 3,471 kWh, payback over 100 years (24 mi)
- Clarke County, MS: 2.96 m/s, 2,484 kWh, payback over 100 years (25 mi)
- Newton County, MS: 3.03 m/s, 2,691 kWh, payback over 100 years (27 mi)
- Sumter County, AL: 3.17 m/s, 3,132 kWh, payback over 100 years (30 mi)
- Neshoba County, MS: 3.05 m/s, 2,751 kWh, payback over 100 years (36 mi)
- Choctaw County, AL: 2.9 m/s, 2,315 kWh, payback over 100 years (37 mi)
Sun versus wind in Lauderdale County
Lauderdale County gets 4.58 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,337 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.