Wind Turbine Payback in Sunflower County, MS
Wind turbine payback in Sunflower 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 Sunflower County, MS averages 4.95 m/s (11.1 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 12,199 kWh a year, worth $1,837 at MS's 15.06¢/kWh. Against an installed cost of about $100,000, that is a payback of 54 years, and the turbine is built to last about 20.
What to do in Sunflower County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Sunflower County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 7.9 m/s at the hub against 4.95 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,340 kWh a year here against the turbine's 1,220, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 41¢/kWh, 2.7 times what MS pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 7.9 m/s instead of 4.95. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of MS
Sunflower County is the 1,479th 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 Sunflower County
March is the strongest month here, at 5.85 m/s and about 1,579 kWh. July is the weakest, 3.57 m/s and 393 kWh, so the best month makes 4.0 times the worst. November to March brings in 56% of the year's output in Sunflower County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 5.66 m/s | 1,459 kWh | $220 |
| February | 5.76 m/s | 1,377 kWh | $207 |
| March | 5.85 m/s | 1,579 kWh | $238 |
| April | 5.88 m/s | 1,544 kWh | $233 |
| May | 4.92 m/s | 1,020 kWh | $154 |
| June | 4.08 m/s | 574 kWh | $86 |
| July | 3.57 m/s | 393 kWh | $59 |
| August | 3.64 m/s | 418 kWh | $63 |
| September | 4.29 m/s | 668 kWh | $101 |
| October | 4.85 m/s | 980 kWh | $148 |
| November | 5.38 m/s | 1,245 kWh | $187 |
| December | 5.53 m/s | 1,383 kWh | $208 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Sunflower County averages 3.72 m/s; at 50 m it is 5.65 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.260, typical of ordinary open country. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 9,055 to 17,126 kWh a year, 89% 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 | 4.45 m/s | 9,055 kWh | 73 years |
| 30 m | 4.95 m/s | 12,181 kWh | 55 years |
| 40 m | 5.33 m/s | 14,831 kWh | 45 years |
| 50 m | 5.65 m/s | 17,126 kWh | 39 years |
Counties around Sunflower County
None of the 6 closest counties is windier than Sunflower County.
- Leflore County, MS: 3.76 m/s, 5,432 kWh, payback over 100 years (18 mi)
- Bolivar County, MS: 4.89 m/s, 11,800 kWh, payback 56 years (21 mi)
- Washington County, MS: 4.75 m/s, 10,890 kWh, payback 61 years (31 mi)
- Humphreys County, MS: 4.92 m/s, 11,999 kWh, payback 55 years (33 mi)
- Tallahatchie County, MS: 4.24 m/s, 7,842 kWh, payback 85 years (34 mi)
- Desha County, AR: 4.82 m/s, 11,341 kWh, payback 64 years (40 mi)
Sun versus wind in Sunflower County
Sunflower County gets 4.59 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,340 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 1,220. Kilowatt for kilowatt, panels make 1.1 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.