Wind Turbine Payback in Monroe County, AL
Wind turbine payback in Monroe 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 Monroe County, AL averages 2.97 m/s (6.6 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 2,513 kWh a year, worth $415 at AL's 16.51¢/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 Monroe County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Monroe County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 7.5 m/s at the hub against 2.97 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,364 kWh a year here against the turbine's 251, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 199¢/kWh, 12.1 times what AL pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 7.5 m/s instead of 2.97. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of AL
Monroe County is the 3,068th 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 Monroe County
March is the strongest month here, at 3.36 m/s and about 323 kWh. July is the weakest, 2.33 m/s and 87 kWh, so the best month makes 3.7 times the worst. November to March brings in 55% of the year's output in Monroe County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 3.27 m/s | 294 kWh | $49 |
| February | 3.31 m/s | 278 kWh | $46 |
| March | 3.36 m/s | 323 kWh | $53 |
| April | 3.31 m/s | 298 kWh | $49 |
| May | 2.92 m/s | 200 kWh | $33 |
| June | 2.50 m/s | 111 kWh | $18 |
| July | 2.33 m/s | 87 kWh | $14 |
| August | 2.38 m/s | 94 kWh | $16 |
| September | 2.77 m/s | 161 kWh | $27 |
| October | 3.06 m/s | 235 kWh | $39 |
| November | 3.23 m/s | 274 kWh | $45 |
| December | 3.21 m/s | 276 kWh | $46 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Monroe County averages 1.75 m/s; at 50 m it is 3.8 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.482, typical of rough, sheltered ground: trees or buildings slow the low wind a lot. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 1,237 to 5,614 kWh a year, 354% 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 | 2.44 m/s | 1,237 kWh | over 100 years |
| 30 m | 2.97 m/s | 2,515 kWh | over 100 years |
| 40 m | 3.41 m/s | 3,989 kWh | over 100 years |
| 50 m | 3.8 m/s | 5,614 kWh | over 100 years |
Counties around Monroe County
2 of the 6 closest counties are windier at turbine height; the windiest, Escambia County, averages 3.47 m/s.
- Conecuh County, AL: 2.95 m/s, 2,455 kWh, payback over 100 years (25 mi)
- Clarke County, AL: 2.9 m/s, 2,315 kWh, payback over 100 years (27 mi)
- Wilcox County, AL: 2.94 m/s, 2,427 kWh, payback over 100 years (29 mi)
- Escambia County, AL: 3.47 m/s, 4,211 kWh, payback over 100 years (34 mi)
- Butler County, AL: 3 m/s, 2,601 kWh, payback over 100 years (43 mi)
- Washington County, AL: 2.9 m/s, 2,315 kWh, payback over 100 years (50 mi)
Sun versus wind in Monroe County
Monroe County gets 4.67 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,364 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 251. Kilowatt for kilowatt, panels make 5.4 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.