Wind Turbine Payback in Mobile County, AL
Wind turbine payback in Mobile 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 Mobile County, AL averages 4.72 m/s (10.6 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 10,698 kWh a year, worth $1,766 at AL's 16.51¢/kWh. Against an installed cost of about $100,000, that is a payback of 57 years, and the turbine is built to last about 20.
What to do in Mobile County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Mobile County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 7.5 m/s at the hub against 4.72 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,405 kWh a year here against the turbine's 1,070, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 47¢/kWh, 2.8 times what AL pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 7.5 m/s instead of 4.72. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of AL
Mobile County is the 1,605th windiest of 3,144 US counties at turbine height; the national middle is 4.79 m/s. It is the windiest county in AL.
Month by month in Mobile County
January is the strongest month here, at 5.48 m/s and about 1,351 kWh. August is the weakest, 3.65 m/s and 421 kWh, so the best month makes 3.2 times the worst. November to March brings in 56% of the year's output in Mobile County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 5.48 m/s | 1,351 kWh | $223 |
| February | 5.42 m/s | 1,185 kWh | $196 |
| March | 5.31 m/s | 1,247 kWh | $206 |
| April | 5.15 m/s | 1,113 kWh | $184 |
| May | 4.47 m/s | 777 kWh | $128 |
| June | 3.89 m/s | 495 kWh | $82 |
| July | 3.65 m/s | 421 kWh | $70 |
| August | 3.65 m/s | 421 kWh | $70 |
| September | 4.26 m/s | 653 kWh | $108 |
| October | 4.79 m/s | 949 kWh | $157 |
| November | 5.16 m/s | 1,123 kWh | $185 |
| December | 5.42 m/s | 1,312 kWh | $217 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Mobile County averages 3.82 m/s; at 50 m it is 5.21 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.193, typical of ordinary open country. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 8,549 to 13,976 kWh a year, 63% 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 | 4.37 m/s | 8,549 kWh | 71 years |
| 30 m | 4.72 m/s | 10,704 kWh | 57 years |
| 40 m | 4.99 m/s | 12,470 kWh | 49 years |
| 50 m | 5.21 m/s | 13,976 kWh | 43 years |
Counties around Mobile County
1 of the 6 closest counties is windier at turbine height; the windiest, Jackson County, averages 4.9 m/s.
- Baldwin County, AL: 4.33 m/s, 8,346 kWh, payback 73 years (27 mi)
- George County, MS: 3.41 m/s, 3,980 kWh, payback over 100 years (29 mi)
- Jackson County, MS: 4.9 m/s, 11,866 kWh, payback 56 years (30 mi)
- Greene County, MS: 3.41 m/s, 3,980 kWh, payback over 100 years (45 mi)
- Washington County, AL: 2.9 m/s, 2,315 kWh, payback over 100 years (50 mi)
- Escambia County, FL: 4.33 m/s, 8,346 kWh, payback 78 years (53 mi)
Sun versus wind in Mobile County
Mobile County gets 4.81 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,405 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 1,070. Kilowatt for kilowatt, panels make 1.3 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.