Wind Turbine Payback in Lawrence County, MS
Wind turbine payback in Lawrence 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 Lawrence County, MS averages 2.95 m/s (6.6 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 2,455 kWh a year, worth $370 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 Lawrence County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Lawrence County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 7.9 m/s at the hub against 2.95 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,346 kWh a year here against the turbine's 246, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 204¢/kWh, 13.5 times what MS pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 7.9 m/s instead of 2.95. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of MS
Lawrence County is the 3,083rd 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 Lawrence County
March is the strongest month here, at 3.34 m/s and about 315 kWh. July is the weakest, 2.30 m/s and 82 kWh, so the best month makes 3.8 times the worst. November to March brings in 55% of the year's output in Lawrence County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 3.24 m/s | 285 kWh | $43 |
| February | 3.31 m/s | 278 kWh | $42 |
| March | 3.34 m/s | 315 kWh | $47 |
| April | 3.32 m/s | 300 kWh | $45 |
| May | 2.90 m/s | 195 kWh | $29 |
| June | 2.48 m/s | 108 kWh | $16 |
| July | 2.30 m/s | 82 kWh | $12 |
| August | 2.38 m/s | 95 kWh | $14 |
| September | 2.72 m/s | 151 kWh | $23 |
| October | 3.02 m/s | 226 kWh | $34 |
| November | 3.20 m/s | 265 kWh | $40 |
| December | 3.21 m/s | 278 kWh | $42 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Lawrence County averages 1.71 m/s; at 50 m it is 3.8 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.496, typical of rough, sheltered ground: trees or buildings slow the low wind a lot. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 1,176 to 5,614 kWh a year, 377% 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 | 2.41 m/s | 1,176 kWh | over 100 years |
| 30 m | 2.95 m/s | 2,454 kWh | over 100 years |
| 40 m | 3.4 m/s | 3,949 kWh | over 100 years |
| 50 m | 3.8 m/s | 5,614 kWh | over 100 years |
Counties around Lawrence County
3 of the 6 closest counties are windier at turbine height; the windiest, Copiah County, averages 3.21 m/s.
- Jefferson Davis County, MS: 2.95 m/s, 2,455 kWh, payback over 100 years (17 mi)
- Lincoln County, MS: 3.02 m/s, 2,661 kWh, payback over 100 years (20 mi)
- Walthall County, MS: 2.9 m/s, 2,315 kWh, payback over 100 years (27 mi)
- Simpson County, MS: 3.12 m/s, 2,970 kWh, payback over 100 years (27 mi)
- Marion County, MS: 2.9 m/s, 2,315 kWh, payback over 100 years (28 mi)
- Copiah County, MS: 3.21 m/s, 3,265 kWh, payback over 100 years (30 mi)
Sun versus wind in Lawrence County
Lawrence County gets 4.61 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,346 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 246. Kilowatt for kilowatt, panels make 5.5 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.